A Rose by Any Other Name
by Desenchanter
Summary: No one knew why Kagome left. Years later she returns to hide from the darkness she had grown to know so well only to find nothing the same. Resented and replaced she travels the road of redemption filled with lies, curses, & cruel complications. IxK MxS
1. Anemone

**Summary**: Alternative-canon plot. Outstanding circumstances forced Kagome to abandon the hunt for the shikon shards before Naraku's death. Years later, she returned only to find out that nothing is the same. Being completely replaced and having those who used to be her friends resent her, maybe even _hate_ her, hurt her. The road to redemption is a long and seemingly endless one paved with curses and the dark demons that now followed her.

**Story Warnings**: (_all hence why it is _**M**_) Aggressive Sex, Blood/Gore, Explicit Sex, Language, Male Dom/Female Dom, Mild Sexual Situations, Punishment, Rape/non-consensual (only once within the story), Sensitive/Controversial Subject Matter, Unresolved Sexual Tension, & some other dark content. (I like how ik-eternal allows these to be in the description, too bad doesn't) _

* * *

†**{ A** **R**_ose_ by **A**_ny_ **O**_ther _**N**_ame_…** }**†**  
x{ **_0_**1: A**_nemone_ **}x**

-•°•°•-

* * *

A fight, _another_, fight between the usually good-natured school girl and the always hot-headed hanyou broke out, who would have thought? After everything, all the trials and tribulations they were forced through, the two could still find the time to argue over childish matters and the heart to stay mad? Yes, the hanyou was stubborn but just barely more so than the time traveling maiden, she could still hold a grudge for a few days with more furry than many.

It was stupid, it was a relatively small matter in hindsight, but it irked her enough to yell the infamous 'S-I-T' and declare she'd be back in three days, she had a _test_ to take—not really, but it was just a little white lie. And those never hurt anyone, now did they? Perhaps they spent too much time together, they were just in need of a break and all were on edge as it was without his immaturity or her short-fuse. It was only human, and that was all she was, though so many often forgot it. She was not trained from childhood to be a powerful priestess, she had only a short while ago picked up a bow and arrow for the first time—had a year and a half since then really gone by?

They were close, ever so close to squashing the slippery, slimy, spider for good. Quite a few shards had been collected once more, she let them hang around her neck, and whatever was left was most likely in _that_ thing, that hideous monster. What a beast, and how close they were… oh, if only, if only he would fight his own battles instead of sending hordes of demons after them.

Everyone needed a break, she wasn't being too selfish when she ran off and jumped down the well to enter a different world. Sometimes, more often lately, she felt a little like Alice tumbling through the confusion that was the rabbit hole only to end up in another world in the end. It was _her _era, _her_ home, that she always ended up in… it was where she belonged ,wasn't it? For her family, she had to… yet for the boy she loved, yes, loved she most likely would end up in the past, if he wanted her to, that was. Even when she was furious with him, she knew it was her heart's desire to always be with him, just _not_ every moment of every day.

The first thing she did on her return was strip and bathe, a long, warm, _steaming_, bath to wash away all the grime that built up while she was in the feudal era. She hadn't any idea what a luxury it was until she couldn't have one every day.

Absolute bliss washed over her while she lazily lingered in the bath for so long, perhaps an hour? Either way, she didn't get out of the water until it became lukewarm. Reluctantly, she sighed as she got out and dried herself to look into the mist covered mirror. The bathroom… another thing she never bothered to appreciate until she knew there would only be so much time before she'd never be in one again because… she had already picked one world over the other.

She loved her family, _dearly_, but Inuyasha? She never wanted to be away from him, sure, he was immature, sure, he was hard to deal with sometimes, yet her heart was fully his and she couldn't think about living without _him_. She could manage without her family as awful as that might sound, but isn't that what a girl was meant to do? Chose love over family…?

"Maybe water's thicker than blood," she murmured while she rubbed her wet hair dry with one hand and the condensation off the mirror with another.

x-•°•°•-x

"Kagome," her mother chimed as she walked down the stairs, "I know you just got home but would you mind going down to the store to pick up a few things for dinner? I didn't notice we were out of soy sauce or tsukemono until Souta told me just now."

"Not a problem," Kagome replied with an earnest smile, after all, a store was a form of handiness she'd eventually have to give up too so why not? The busy streets of Tokyo wouldn't be so hard to let go, she was always bumping into people and the noisiness of it all bothered her sometimes. That wasn't at all what she was pondering about as she went to the local convenience store and bought everything her mother asked for but the fact that she was surely being followed. She could feel a set of eyes upon her the entire time she walked in and out of the store, exiting in the opposite direction of her home until she could sink down an alleyway.

Whatever was watching her wasn't unfriendly, she could just tell, more importantly she knew who it was, "Inuyasha, stop following me. I _told_ you that I—" she began as she turned around to see the person standing at the end of the alley. Her face went blank and mouth agape; her grocery bag slipped from her hand to hit the ground with an echoed shatter—there goes the soy sauce.

It just could not be… her mind was stuck on rewind going back, back, back to the funeral she attend, to that awful moment when she was but a child and rushed to the hospital to see her father hurried into the ER after _the_ accident, to the _grave_ her family frequented and if that was so, if all those memories were true, what was he doing standing just a mere meter away? Finally, she forced her lids shut, took a deep, deep, breath in and then opened them up once more to look at the man in front of her. He wasn't an illusion, was he?

"I don't know who Inuyasha is, it's a peculiar name," he mused, his jade eyes slowly evaluating every bit of the girl just a step or two away from him.

"Th…" never in all her life she did honestly think she might hyperventilate but then again, when had she ever been so shocked? She grasped her chest and turned away to steady her breath, "that's what you say? _That's_ the first thing you say?"

It had to be him, didn't it? _Didn't_ it? How could someone look so alike? The man was a mirror image of her father, just a little older with a few wrinkles upon his forehead, and it wasn't a trick, right? Her world was filled with demons, ghosts maybe, but he was _real_, he was _human_, she could feel that.

Feel he was real, he was _alive_. Tears threatened to break from such a betrayal, what? Did she live in some sick movie? Some twisted book where loved ones really fake their own death? A stupid soap opera, even? Maybe she was thrown into a fairytale type of situation but… but that was _through_ the well, weird things were on _that_ side not this. This side, _her_ side, was normal, mundane, and the most surprising thing that had happened to her lately was when she actually pulled off a B on her last test.

Her father was _d-e-a-d_.

"I'm sorry, you're right, Kagome… it's been a while."

"A while is a few months, a _while_ is a year at most, _a while_ is not seven years," she protested but still could not find the motivation to turn around and look at him, his… his voice was the same, that hint of raspy, deep, mostly monotone thing it always had been.

It had to be him… didn't it?

"I'm sorry," he repeated and for once there was a hint of something in it, perhaps real remorse? "You're right."

"Stop saying that," she whispered, "I don't want to be right… this isn't happening, I'm dreaming. I'm dreaming…"

"I understand it is probably hard to grasp that I'm not—"

"_Dead_?" she snapped.

"Yes, but I assure you that I did what I had to do to keep you safe."

A shake breathe later she managed to slowly spin around to look at him, "what's that supposed to mean?"

"It's complicated, but if you'd come with me I'd like to explain it to you, Kagome…" just then his features shifted, his brows bent and something akin to a frown arose as he took that single step to be right in front of her, "Kagome, I've missed you."

"This isn't possible," she retorted, "this isn't… you aren't…"

"I expected this reaction, if you'd like we could go to the hospital and get a paternity test done."

A weak, humorless laugh left her lips as she folded her arms, yes, _yes_, the man was her father. The overly sensible man that always planned every aspect out of _anything_, if they were going on a family vacation he'd tell them for days in advance when they were to be ready to leave and God forbid they leave five minutes later than expected. Before she ever had experience in love she never really understood what it was that brought her mother and father to marry, they were true opposites.

Now she surely got it. Her father was collected, maybe a little emotionally detached at times, and methodical about everything—_anal,_ really—while her mother was a loving, relatively carefree soul. After all, she had to be in order to allow her daughter to go back and forth between time—who just went with the flow. Fate had a plan for everyone, she would always tell Kagome. There's a logic to everything, her father would always contradicted.

"Wha… what the _hell_?" She inquired with a bit of an attitude, one she felt she ever so entitled to, "are you… coming home or something?"

"No, by no means is your mother, grandfather, or brother to know I'm not dead. Just you."

Her brows furrowed together automatically, "you think I'm not going to tell them?"

"Truthfully?" She only gave him a cold glare for that, "you won't be staying long enough to."

"What… are you talking about?"

"Let me take you out to eat, I'll explain everything over dinner, I promise."

Promise. Her father… her father had always been a man of his word, he never swore something he could not deliver, but how honest could a man that had been supposedly dead for the past seven years yet neglected to tell his family really be?

Still, she pressed her lips together as she glanced down the ground, it was just a dinner… and he had to be her daddy, didn't he? Maybe heavens had graced her with this gift, a second chance to know a father she might not really remember if not to pictures.

x-•°•°•-x

"Yes," he coaxed before lifting his cup of coffee up to his lips to take the final sip, "I know, it's hard to grasp but… Kagome, sweetheart, you must understand why I did what I did."

"You," she swallowed, her hazels locked with the plate of food she barely touched, "you," she cleared her throat, "you are l-lying, you have to be. You…"

"Kagome, look at me," he ordered and meekly she glanced up to him, "do I look like I'm lying? I didn't raise you to be a liar and I know your mother would have kept with that trend after I left—"

"You mean you _died_," she snapped, "you _died_, you _died_, you _died_…"

"I'm sorry, that must have been very hard on you, but do you not see the logic behind it? Now that I've explained it to you? Do you honestly not see how my hand was forced, sweetheart?"

"Stop calling me that," she muttered, he hadn't a right, not now… "you can't possibly expect me to leave my life, to come away with you, not after everything. You just can't."

"But I do," he assured, just like always, he sounded so certain, as if there wasn't a doubt in his mind that she would run away with him and leave everything that was precious to her behind. She wasn't him, she _wasn't_. That much she was certain about.

"I can't," she protested agonizingly as she glanced up to her father's cool eyes, they were just as hard as any jade statute she had ever come across, that's why the color was so perfect for them, even as a child she thought so. "You don't understand, you have no idea what I've been up to since you've—"

"I love you, Kagome," those words mingled her breath to cease any objection, "perhaps I have not been here physically but I'm aware of what you have been doing. I keep tabs on all of you."

"Tabs?" She murmured, "_tabs_? Like we're some sort of science experiment? _Tabs_?"

"Kagome," he sighed, "stop that, you know what I mean."

"You have no idea what I've been doing," she kept up as she folded her arms upon the table and leaned forward, "no idea whatsoever."

"You go down the well to a world filled of mayhem and anarchy, you are gifted, Kagome, I've never doubted that, not since the day you were born."

She needed to gasp in air after a short pause of her lungs functioning, "you… you…"

He snapped his finger to catch her attention once more, "I need you to focus right now. Perhaps I'm being insensitive but if you were paying any attention to what I was just saying then you should understand, sweetheart, you just turned seventeen, you should be able to comprehend all that I am saying."

Wait, when did that happen…?

"Oh," she whispered, how true, she often lost track of what day it was, let alone what the _date_ was, when she went down the well. She'd usually laugh about not even noticing she missed her own birthday but nothing seemed to be funny when she had a father, that should be cremated and in a grave that she so often visited and used to cry ever so often in front of, staring at her with such seriousness. Then another realization hit her, slowly cascading down as her shoulders sagged along with her head, they weren't really out of soy sauce at home, were they? Her family was probably planning some sort of surprise for her… and now she'd been gone for hours without calling. How worried her mother must be, "I have to go."

"Fine," he stated as he pulled his napkin from his lap and set it on the table.

"Fine?" She repeated with an edge of awe, "_fine_? Really, that's it? I thought you said that—"

"I have full faith that you won't tell your mother or anyone else about me," he assured as he wiggled his wallet out of his pocket and pried a card out to hand to her, "my number, call me when you have your things together."

"What?" She muttered, her hand reached out and took the little white piece of paper without even thinking about it.

"I know you'll make the right choice," was all he said before he left cash on the table, stood, and walked over to bend down to give her a kiss on the forehead, "I'll see you soon, happy belated birthday."

She shut her eyes but otherwise she was frozen in her position until well after her father had left, her world was spinning too fast, everything was in shambles and only crumbling more and more, so how? How was it possible, any of it? None of it was… but what really _was_ in her life?

Did it really make sense that she could go down a well and end up in feudal era Japan? No.

Did it seem normal that she had a jewel in her body that was pried out by a centipede demon after she freed a dog hanyou who had been pinned to a tree for fifty years? Uh-uh.

Did it even seem probable to ever witness the dead rising once more then watch as she remained alive through the souls of lost maidens? Nope.

Did she really have to go on to prove her point, to herself no less? She shook her head at that as she pried her eyes upon to see a perfectly wrapped petite box before her, a little red bow on top and everything.

He… had given her a gift? It better be one hell of a gift to make up for seven missed birthdays, that's all she could think as she picked it up.

And, yes, it was… she bit her lips and looked away, what was she to do? Really leave everyone? Not just _everyone_, not just her _family_, but… but Inuyasha? Him, honestly?

Maybe, blood's just thicker than water, no matter what?

* * *

**Anemone: **Generally accepted as meaning dying hope/forsaken.


	2. Striped Carnation

†**{ A** **R**_ose_ by **A**_ny_ **O**_ther _**N**_ame_…** }**†**  
x{ **_0_**2: S**_tripped_** C**_arnation_**}x**

-•°•°•-

* * *

Gasps, pants, thuds, and fabric brushing against fabric echoed the already hectic platform that the young maiden ran across, weaving around in the small gaps in-between all those that were waiting for their train and leaping over the lumps of luggage. All the while, her petit hand grasped tightly in a larger one which tugged her along.

A stumble was inevitable with so much in her way but she'd never fall, the man that held her hand turned to catch her before she could. For a fraction of a second they stopped to stare into each other's eyes, hazels to auburn orbs. Time could not be spared, he broke contact to glance behind them—his already furrowed brows only deepened the unnatural wrinkles upon his youthful face—before sprinting on, pulling her along with him.

They jilted out of the train station and down the old Victorian styled stone streets, faster and faster they ran until she was yanked to the side by the boy that led her and into a church that appeared to be shut down for restoration. It was only then that they were allowed a moment to catch their breath, she kneeled over to place her hands on her upper thigh; he just kept turning about looking for something.

"Kagome," he began on a weak breath as he grasped her upper arm to pull her up once more, "I can't let anything happen to you, I can't lose you, you have to hide."

"Wait," she protested as she grasped his jacket and took a step closer to him, "you think I'd let something happen to you? No, I refuse!"

"Trust me, I'll be fine," he assured forcefully, "you have to hide and _not_ come out not matter what. They are coming; we don't have time to argue. Please, just do as I say."

"No, no, please, no," she begged with a shake of her head over and over again, "I can't lose you, either. Let's just keep going, we can keep running, please—"

"No," he countered, "we can't, they are too close this time… we both can't get away. You can. _You_ have to."

"I," she shook her head and shut her eyes, "no, I—"

He hushed her by brushing her even black bangs off her forehead and placing a kiss there instead before he walked her over to one of the walls; he slid a plastic cover aside and pushed her in, "hide and _don't_ come out no matter what. Promise me, Kagome."

"No," she whined, "_no_, if you—"

"We don't have time to argue," he snapped, "promise me, now, Kagome. When you get the chance, get the hell out of here."

"Only if you promise me that I'll see you again," she countered as she reached out for one of his hands, "promise me, please."

"I promise," he soothed with a softened gaze, "now…?"

"I promise not to come out," she whispered with less resolve as her eyes met with the dust covered marble floor.

"Mask your aura," he ordered, "and get out of Europe after this, go somewhere that they can't find you. I'll come for you when I can."

"How will you find me?"

"I just will," he assured with a quick grin, "make sure to go somewhere _really_ safe, though."

"Alright," she murmured, it broke her heart all the more to see him give her a weak smile before stepping back and letting the plastic obscure her vision, she took a few deep breaths while slid behind a statue of a praying angle.

Her heart quickened when she heard the doors open and shut only to be followed by a pair of hefty footsteps upon the ground, she didn't want to watch, she wanted to close her eyes and pretend she was not there but she couldn't… she saw two vague figures walk up to the one she knew, one of the intruders chuckled, "there you are, now where's the little lady?"

"You won't find her," her comrade retorted, she could just imagine the smug smirk he must have had, "she wasn't the one that got off the train with me, it's called a _distraction_ and it worked. Idiots. She's probably halfway to… who knows by now? I made sure she didn't tell me."

"Well, if you don't have the girl then we don't need ya', now do we?" A new gritty voice grunted.

The smaller of the two strangers jetted forward, she barely saw what happened with the plastic sheet in front of her but the groan and crimson splash keyed her in on what she missed, she held her breath and covered her mouth to keep from gasping. She shut her eyes at the sound of a body thudding to the marred marble and slinked down to a squat.

"Damn it," a hiss cursed, "this is bullshit, we're screwed… we lost her _again_."

"Come on, she can't be lucky forever, she doesn't have much time left," the other grumbled, she heard a thud and opened her eyes to see him kick the fallen body. No, that was too much, she could feel tears stream down her dust covered cheeks and sniffled back a sob.

"Did you hear something?" One snapped, his head turning in every which way.

"No, you moron, let's go, we gotta figure out where that train was heading."

"I'm gonna rip her head off when we finally get a hold of her."

"If you do that we'll be in even _more_ trouble," the other grumbled, "boss is going to kill us if we don't get her by the end of this week…"

She bit her bottom lip and waited for them to leave, counted to twenty, then slowly moved out of her spot to look at the still bleeding, warm body. She took a deep, shaky breath as she kneeled down beside the boy but before she could turn him over to look at his handsome face one last time the door opening caught her fully attention.

If only… but she didn't have time to lament, the game of cat and mouse she was caught in was a never ending cycle.

x-•°•°•-x

'_Go somewhere they can't find you_' he had said, Japan was probably on his top lists of places for her _not_ to run to. That didn't stop her from getting onto the first plane she could to Tokyo. Usually, she hated such long rides but… that time it seemed to fade by in a blink of the eye. How many people had gone over to the pretty girl that was all alone to ask if she needed anything, a frown and concern on their face because of the tears in her eyes? She'd always shock her head and only had juice every now and then.

Her appetite was always absent on international flights but this time… this time she felt like throwing up the entire time. She was _there_ and did _nothing_.

No one was following her, the monsters that were trailing her and killed—no, she couldn't think about him—had been gone when she came out of hiding. The construction workers that were only on a lunch break when they arrived returned to catch her over a dead body, as much as she hated it she couldn't stay, she turned her hazels down to the man for the final time before sprinting away. It was probably for the best that she didn't see his face or else that would have been all she could remember, not his smile, or his laugh, or…

Had it really been three years since she walked the busy streets of Tokyo? Cities were always the best place to hide since there were _so_ many people, it would slow them down but not for long. They probably already knew she was in Japan, they probably had someone in Tokyo to call up and sick on her but it wouldn't matter, she knew where to go.

There was only one place she could be safe… she had to take a deep breath in through her noise and let it out through her mouth several times before she readjusted her midsize side-bag on her shoulder. The stairs that led up to the place she once called home never seemed so ominous in all her life but she had to go, she _had _to. Honestly, she couldn't think of anywhere else to go, she was at a dead-end everywhere she looked… how the hell was she going to get out of this?

Up the stairs she ran and through the courtyard until she got to the little hut the hid the well, she could tell no one was home—there were no aura within the house—but she still felt she should rush, she still felt she hadn't a right to be there at all… she shook her head as she slid the door closed behind her and rested upon it, her eyes lazily on the well that was shut.

_I love you all so much; please do not worry about me. I've made my choice, I'm so sorry I just couldn't tell you to your faces. You deserve that but I'm afraid I might have changed my mind if I did. Mom, you always told me to listen to my heart and that's what I'm doing. This is what it tells me to do._

_I really love you; I'm so sorry, please know I'm safe and happy. I hope that you all are, too._

_I really love you all of you, I'll miss you,_

_Kagome_

She could still remember every word of her goodbye letter to her family, they thought she was down the well living happily ever after with Inuyasha and the others but… she closed her eyes and brushed her loose onyx curls behind her ears, this was what she had to do, she hadn't any other choice… slowly, her fingers moved from her livid locks to the golden chain that always hung around her neck then they slid to meet the fragmented pink jewel.

"They must hate me," she whispered before she began to walk down the stairs, the sound of her flat brown leather boots echoing about the hallow wood caught her attention until she reached the well; gradually she opened it up to look down. With a sharp breath she stepped away, her eyes running to her feet instead of it. It shouldn't be so scary to do this; she'd done it a million times before… what was there to fear?

Instead of wondering about that she followed the wrap around studded buckle strap that looked lightly distressed and up to the slouchy mid-calf length of her boots and back to the well again. Maybe she should wait until she was wearing a pair of sneakers instead? She had ran and ran in these boots, they were probably the most comfortable pair of shoes she owned but… no, she shook her head, she was just trying to make excuse, "just do it, Kagome."

"OK," it was foolish to talk to herself but it did help because the next thing she knew she was leaping over the side of the well and hoping that she wouldn't land on the bottom but woosh through the blue wonder-world. It was the strangest feeling, almost like she was floating in water mixed air; sparkles were all about—where was she when she wandered from one era to the next? That really didn't matter most of the time so she never pondered too long as she gently touched down on the side she hadn't ventured to in so many years…

The sky was bleak above her, it was ever so humid even at the bottom, "at least the vines have grown," she muttered as she grasped onto one of them to climb her way out of the well like all those times before. For a moment she took the time to be thankful she didn't have a huge yellow bag to lug up with her.

Everything was the same… and for a moment reflexes kicked in and she started to walk towards Kaede's village but she only got a few steps away from the well before she thought better of that, why would she do that?

Honestly, she hadn't thought about what she would do once she was on the other side of the well… it was safe for her, no one could follow her, the _monsters_ couldn't find her… that was probably why it only hit her then like a bullet-train to her gut that _he_ was _gone_. She could barely breathe anymore as she fell to her hands and knees, sure she had cried but it didn't really register why the tears were coming…

He was dead… she _watched_ him die. Gasps of air barely found their way to her flaming lungs as she let her forehead kiss the ground, "no," she muttered to nothing—who was she trying to convince? The god of death to take back what he had already done? Reality to alter? What?

"Kagome?"

Her heart cracked the more she thought about it, she'd never see him again, she'd never hear his voice, she'd never feel his safe hand around hers, she'd never be able to cling to him for protection… he had departed from their world.

_Gone_ all because he was protecting her, she shut her eyes and clenched the green grass in her fists but that was only until she felt something touch her head. That sparked her to sit up on her knees to look for what it was, "Shippou?" she awed, her eyes weren't playing tricks on her, were they? Little Shippou, he had barely grown at all, was standing there wide-eyed in front of her.

"Kagome!" He gleamed before leaping into her arms and hugging her tightly, "I've missed you, Kagome!"

"Oh, Shippou," she murmured back while she wrapped her arms around him and held him with all her might, maybe it wasn't the embrace she was looking for but it would do.

"We have to go to Kaede's! Come on, Kagome, everyone's going to be so excited," Shippou declared as he leaped out of her grasp and began to bounce towards the village, waving his hands all the while with the grandest of grins etched into his face.

Why was he so happy? Why did he smile at her like that? What did they think o her? She just left, without a word; at least she gave her family a letter and reasons. She just… didn't come back on one of her trips home and prayed that the well would seal up when she shut the door. It was foolish of her but if she went down it… if she saw Inuyasha she would have changed her mind.

Worse yet, she took the shikon shards she had with her. If her other sins weren't bad enough, _that_ must have irked Inuyasha if no one else.

"Kagome, are you coming?" Shippou asked, finally his good cheer faded, "are… you back to stay or just visit…?"

What a brilliant question, she'd love to know the answer to that herself, but instead she just smiled and got to her feet, brushing off the dirt from her jeans, "let's go."

Really, she just didn't think about what would happen when she got to the feudal era but she didn't really expect that they'd be there at Kaede's or anyone would notice her even if they were. "Hey, Shippou," she meekly began as he hopped ahead of her, "so… how are things here?"

"Decent," he replied, "Naraku's not dead yet, if that's what you mean."

A pang of guilt pulsed through her, it really shouldn't… at least that's what she told herself, she had made logic of her choice all those years ago. Granted, Naraku was a disgusting and evil bastard and truly deserved to be six feet under _but_ he had _technically_ never done anything to _her—_besides the few times he tried to kill her but lately that really seemed more and more mundane—but her friends. That didn't make it any better but… she just wished it did, she tried her best to make that mean it was their fight and not hers. It didn't work very well, though.

They were to the village before the sprinkling from the sky started, smoke puffed out of a lot of the huts to counter the cool air and prepare for the darkness that was sure to come.

"Guys!" Shippou shouted as he hopped into the hut that still belonged to Kaede, she got as far as the bamboo door before she couldn't seem to go any farther.

Not a day went by that she didn't worry about each and every one of them—one more so than the rest—and some nights she even dreamed of being right where she was again, to see each of them, to verify what her heart begged to be true, that they were all still alive. She just had to put things in order again, build up her courage, and take a step forward into the warmth.

One stunned slayer, check.

One heated hanyou, check.

One perplexed priestess, check.

One mischievous monk?

Absent… her brows bent together as her hazels wondered about the small hut until her eyes landed on an unfamiliar female with big brown awe-struck eyes staring right back at her. A quick over glance and she would have guessed the girl was a priestess from the way her outfit matched Kaede's and her aura said human so what was with the shoulder-length red hair? That was abnormal, to say the least.

"Who are you?" She heard herself saying without really thinking.

"I'm Tamako," the young girl replied with a smile and a respectful bow of her head, "may I ask, who you are?"

"Kagome," she mumbled back before she glanced to her old friend beside her, mesmerized mahogany eyes met her hazel gaze, "hey…"

"Kagome," Sango finally managed to say, "you… you're back."

A classic 'keh' caught her interest but she couldn't seem to force herself to turn her head to look at the surely irate Inuyasha until he grunted, "why are you here?"

"I," she couldn't tell the _truth_ but she didn't want to lie either, so she'd just have to settle for somewhere in between as she looked over to his enflamed golden glare, "missed you guys."

That only dulled his tense stance briefly before he shot up to his feet, "I went to go get you but your family had it in their heads that you were _here_. I was by the well the entire time, you never came back, and then—"

"Wait," she gasped as her hand flew up to grasp the white fabric of her shirt in front of her heart, "wait, _wait_, my family knows I'm _not_ here?"

Oh, the way he could burn holes into her with such a _fierce_ look almost made her waver in her endeavor, "keh, yeah. Do you know how worried they were about you, huh? For a year they did everything they could to find you! They even had the," he paused as he searched for the proper foreign word, "police looking for you."

She closed her eyes and pursed her lips, she had that worry in the back of her head all the while that they'd figured out she was lying but… she preferred think that they were joyfully ignorant.

For a fleeting moment she let the foolish whim of running back to the well and back to her family to assure them that she was _fine_ to take hold of her, she even took the slightly step backwards to be closer to the door but then her better senses stabbed that notion to death. It was best if she stayed far, far, _far_ away from her family.

"Then you finally decided to send them that stupid letter!" Snapped her eyes open again to see that Inuyasha was only getting all the more mad, "I never thought you were the type of traitor to abandon your family like that, Kagome!"

Translation, _him_, he never thought that she'd break her promise of staying by his side, he never thought she'd just leave without a word, and in all fairness she had never thought she could, either, "Inuyasha…" she murmured but instead of apologizing like she so desperately wished to she inquired, "what letter?"

"What do you mean _what _letter?" He growled as he crossly folded his arms upon his chest to restrain himself, "that goddamn thing that you sent to tell them to stop looking because you where _fine_ and _happy_," he mocked ever so heavily, "that you just wanted to get out of Japan, away from all your _problems_, and that you found a job and were going to a… universata or something like that in… wherever the hell it was," he scoffed over the wrong word as he turned her cheek to her, "some foreign country. Do you know how upset your mom was? You stupid bitch. I wouldn't have believed it was really from you if not for those things that you sent with it."

When did all this happen? She had never once written to her family though she had grown weak and called her house a few times from a telephone booth here and there only to hear her grandpa, mom, or brother answer and say hello, trying to coax a reply out of the empty line before hanging up on her. It was wrong of her to do that, she was scolded often for her indiscretion but she couldn't help herself… again, she meekly asked, "what 'things'?"

"You're pissing me off," he snarled, "those things! The pictures of you and your _new _friends on the beach or whatever."

She raised a brow at that but the confusion only lasted a moment before realization waved through her, _oh_… "dad…"

"What?" Inuyasha snapped.

"Nothing," she muttered back as she averted his gaze. Her father must have been behind that, he kept tabs on their family—at least he swore he did—and thus must have figured out that they knew she wasn't where she claimed to be, he must have sent the photos and note to sooth their worries and cease their efforts. The police would have labeled her as a 'willing runaway' and stopped their pursuit and her family would have some sort of closure.

That made perfect sense and sounded _just_ like her dear old dad to do something like that without even consulting her.

"Give me these and go away," Inuyasha ordered as he snatched at the necklace but did not yank it to break the chain like she initially thought he would, hence why her hand snapped up to grasp his tightly, "we don't need _you_ go back to whatever it was."

"Let go," she demanded fairly firmly with a façade to match even though the way his sizzling stare locked with her eyes made her feel ever so small.

"No."

"I _said_ let _go_, Inuyasha," she slowly, surely, stretched out each word.

"If you wanted to leave us then you should have left the shards, too, do you know what a pain in the ass you are?" He jeered; he held the shards so tightly in his tense grasp that she was almost certain he'd pierce his skin on the fragmented edges.

"I'm sorry," she assured, "I am, now please let go."

It might have only been because she softened her expression that he loosened his grip enough for her to safely tug her necklace free and take a step to the side, "we don't need you," he grumbled without looking to her, "we've got Tamako, she's a more powerful priestess than you ever could be. She's really _useful _and I don't always need to save her like I did your sorry ass. She's got better aim then you, she can make barriers, _and_ she can even sense the shards. We _don't_ need you."

It should not have stung so much to hear she had been replaced, it was only natural that they'd need someone to fill the void she left them with… it was her choice to leave, granted one she was forced to take, but still… she didn't say a word to any of that—what was there to say? 'Let me stay anyway?'

"It stinks in here now, I'm going out," Inuyasha stated as he pushed the bamboo door out of the way harshly.

"Inuyasha, it's going to rain!" Tamako protested but did not get up from the pad she sat on.

"I don't care!" He shouted back.

An awkward silence stilled those within the hunt until Kaede rose, the symphony of her cracking joints breaking the hush, "would ye like some tea, child?"

"Yes, please," she mumbled before sitting by the fire across from the two females that remained. Once she had a cup of warm tea in hand she could no longer bite her tongue, she _had_ to ask, "where's Miroku?"

"He's gone," Sango retorted swiftly, with swift force she pushed herself up and left without another word, Kirara tagging along with a small 'meow'.

Gone… _gone_, she almost dropped her cup as her eyes moved from the swaying door to the dancing fire, Miroku… she closed her eyes, of course she had worried most about him. The others could protect themselves but he… he had the curse that was eating away at his existence; he couldn't really fight that. Sango had every right to be upset with her, wasn't she a bit to blame for that? A small whisper told her 'no' that it 'wasn't her fight to start out with' that she 'had been dragged into it unwillingly' but a larger voice, a _screaming_ one, told her it was _all_ her fault. If she had not left perhaps Naraku would be dead instead of the monk she cherished so tenderly, like a brother. Granted, a perverted one that dared to touch here every now and then in inappropriate ways but…

"Miss, I'm afraid you are taking that the wrong way," Tamako coaxed gently, weakly winning Kagome's attention enough that she opened her eyes to look at the girl. "Miroku-sama's wind tunnel has gotten very bad and some time ago he had to stop traveling with us to stay at Mushin-sama's but he is alive."

"Thank God," she whispered to herself with a sweet sight of relief, "thank you for telling me."

Tamako gave her the natural smile that seemed so right on her lips and a slight bow of the head in responds, "but…Miroku-sama… he does not have much time left. It does not look good and we have not found any trace of Naraku in what feels like forever…"

It was kind of her to sooth her soul but did she have to stab another knife into it so shortly afterwards? It wasn't her fault and Kagome got the feeling she did not mean to do so, the girl seemed sweet and ever so _innocent_ even from the small amount of time she had spent with her. If she had to guess, the girl was most likely eighteen years old at most and… very pretty, she couldn't help but notice that either.

"But that's okay," Shippou assured while he hopped over and into Kagome's lap, "we have more help now, right? You're not going to leave soon… are you?"

"I…" who knew?

"Oh, yes, I have heard so much about you that I already feel that we have met," Tamako chimed with a bit of a giggle, "you must be very talented, it would be a great assistance if you could aid us like you did before I arrived."

She couldn't help but smile weakly at Tamako for that, apparently she was going to disregard all that Inuyasha had blatantly stated a few moments ago, "thank you but…"

"Don't let what Inuyasha said get to you," she requested, "he has been in a particularly foul mood as of late, I am sure he did not mean it. You are Kikyou-sama's reincarnation after all, aren't you? If for no other reason than that you must be far more powerful than I could ever hope to be."

Oh, yes, the joy she had pretty much forgotten about all together would have to be something she'd have to endure once more. Comparisons between her and the perished priestess, what fun, "thanks…"

"I must admit I'm very jealous of you in that regard," Tamako laughed, "Kikyou-sama is my ideal, while I was training to become a priestess I heard tales about her bravery while protecting the shikon, they really inspired me."

"Good for you," Kagome tried her best to keep her smile on, a part of her would love to give the burden of being Kikyou's reincarnation to the giddy girl across from her but then she wouldn't have known everyone here, too. So she held back a sigh and began to drink the tea Kaede had kindly given to her, hoping all the while that during the storm that had began to pour down Tamako would not pursue her current topic any further and, thanks to Shippou, she did not.

x-•°•°•-x

The smell of freshly fallen rain was quite possibly one of her favorite things, so she sucked in as much of the scent as she could as she stretched her arms above her head. She felt like she most certainly needed a walk after all that time stuck in Kaede's small hut trying to wait out the storm. Of course, the sun refused to return to the sky all the same but she could still see where she was going so she doubted that was really a major issue.

"You should not be wandering around alone at night."

She had to reframe from a cringe as she turned around to see Sango standing there, her arms loosely crossed under her bosom and eyes dully fixed upon her. If she ever returned she did not expect a very warm welcoming but she did not predict such a cold one, either, and especially not from her dearest friend Sango of all people. Now, Inuyasha's attitude, _that_ she had been prepared for. "I'll be fine… I'm sorry to hear about Miroku—"

"Don't," Sango ordered, "Kagome, we all like Tamako a great deal; she is a valued comrade and a kind person. _Inuyasha_ likes Tamako, too."

Really? That was what Sango wanted to talk about, out of every other option the new girl was what she wanted to beat into her head? "That's… good?"

"It is," Sango agreed earnestly, the spite that tainted her tone before had dropped but only for those two words, "she _is_ good for him. He is for her, too. They are very, very close and have been for some time now. She's a sweet, caring, patient person and the perfect type to counteract Inuyasha's stubborn, rude behavior. Kagome… you hurt Inuyasha so much when you left, and without a word?" She shook her head as she turned her cheek to Kagome to look off into the distance, "you know how he is… you should have known how he would have taken you doing such a thing."

"Sango," Kagome sped as she took one step towards, "I know but I _never _meant to hurt him."

"Well, you did. He thought for a while it was because of that stupid, immature, fight you two had but we were all so certain it could not have been. None of us can even remember what it was about…"

That was unanimous, apparently, since Kagome had forgotten what it was over shortly after she returned to her era, too.

"For a year we barely went out of a day or two's trip from the well, he went to your world constantly to check on the search for you. Then, one day, he came back in such a strange state… I've never seen him like that, he told us about the letter you sent your family and how you were fine… he was _crushed_, he barely spoke to any of us… then we chanced upon Tamako and she began to travel with us, she's been loyally by our sides for a two years now. She's slowly tended to the wounds _you_ left."

Two years… that's just barely longer than the amount of time she traveled with them, Kagome glanced away briefly as she began her nervous habit of twisting the only ring she wore around over and over again.

"You," Sango pressed her lips together briefly before looking back at Kagome, "haven't a right to come back her and ruin what he has with someone else. If your goal is to mend matters with Inuyasha… just leave, it's not fair. Not to Inuyasha, not to Tamako…"

She swallowed back the lump that had formed and nodded, "I promise that's not what I'm doing here…" she clenched her left hand together to stop her fiddling hands, "I'm… happy for him, if that's the case."

"Good," Sango whispered before she loosened up only slightly, "if that is not what you are doing here… then why _are_ you here?"

She simply shook her head at that one, she couldn't even explain that story properly… more importantly, she _didn't _want to. Not even if it might vindicate her.

"Fine," Sango sassed back as she turned, "I'm going to bed, don't get into any trouble."

"Sango, wait," Kagome begged as reached her hand weakly to grab her old friend's shoulder, "I… I had my reasons, I honestly—"

"I don't care."

"My father," she sped when Sango freed her shoulder from her grasp to start storming off, those two words did get the slayer to stop her feet, "my father came back… he wanted me to go with him. I hadn't seen him is so long… he's my dad."

"Your father?" Sango mused as she slowly turned halfway to look at Kagome, "alright…" she could accepted that, if she had the chance to runaway from the horror show of her life with her father she'd do the same, most likely... maybe. "That does not give you an excuse for leaving without a word to any of us, to _Inuyasha_."

She couldn't refute that, it was true, so she just nodded once before Sango turned away to head back to the village. It was only then that Kagome looked at her hands and bit her bottom lip, how could that? How could there still be flakes of blood under her nails? How many times had she washed them on the plane, before that, too? She was certain she got all of it, but no, there was still the crust of dried crimson deep down.

That just wouldn't do.

x-•°•°•-x

It probably didn't say anything good about that she carried a staunch brush in her purse that's sole purpose was scrubbing away blood stains, it worked splendidly for the touch spots under her nails, too. It didn't matter to her, she worked all the more fervently to get rid of his blood, the cool water helped to dull the pain she was surely causing herself. There was only a very, very tiny bit left but it was enough to upset her all the more, to curse her mind into being a broken tape repeating the vague scene over and over again.

He was gone.

She didn't want his blood on her hands, more so, she didn't want _any_ blood but… she could scrub her skin raw and never fix that. The simple truth kept pounding her heart with each beat, it was really her fault. Every bit of it, _every_ part, if only she had done things different that week he might be there with her, she might still be on the run _with_ him.

A slender tear trekked down her cheek; she rubbed it away with her shoulder and tried to will away the prospect for another. Her mind had to go elsewhere, she had to think of _something_ else, anything would be better.

Reflection, hers caught her eye when she removed her hands from the stream to inspected them. It was amusing to see how different she was since the last time she was on the bank staring down at the water. The school uniform had long left her wardrobe, her hairstyle was completely different, too. It didn't appear as thick but softer and not as straight but her bangs were. Her eyes were the same but they were different, too, before they shined with innocence but now she knew the world for what it was, and the people within it too. She had officially finished growing, she was certain, and felt her fashion scene had matured. A white tank top with a brown thin bark colored weaved belt above it where the belt loops of her jeans would be, it tilted more to one side than the other more often than naught. At least she had the sense to wear a jacket, though a light one, this time around. A stand collar brown leather jacket, the shoulders were more squared than not and she could zip it up if she wanted but she never really did…

None of that really mattered, though, so she tapped the water to make her reflection ripple away. That's when her left hand caught her full attention as she lifted it up to look at the emptiness, it felt wrong, so she turned her attention down to the golden ring she had set aside and slid it back on to its proper post.

It was precious to her, maybe her most prized object—no, the golden hair ornament rivaled that spot, but it was close. It was a tie, probably. It was a one-of-a-kind in her opinion, a thin golden band with three rubies upon it, the two on the outside smaller than the one that was delicately carved to look like a rose. It must have been a _painstaking _task for whatever marvelous jeweler created it, there were four very, very petit diamonds placed in between the rose ruby and the other two to separate them, two on each side, it seemed to make the center piece all the more important. All in all, it was a small ring, none of the jewels—not even the rose—were too large, but that didn't matter at all to her.

It was, to her, the highlight of the entire ring but what meaning did it have now...?

"You shouldn't be out here alone," she heard a harsh scold that made her jump and almost lose her balance enough to fall face first into the shallow water, luckily she felt a stern hand grasp her jacket to keep that from happening, "idiot."

"Inuyasha," she murmured when she found her equilibrium enough for him to let go.

"I ain't going to save you if you get yourself into trouble, so you shouldn't be out here," he grumbled.

"Thanks," she guessed that was what she should say, hm? She took a deep breath as she pushed off the ground to stand up, still she was shorter than him but she didn't think that would ever change. "Inuyasha—"

"What the hell are you doing here?" He interrupted callously.

She couldn't help but cringe at that, "look… let me try and explain something, please?" His cold silence was her only reply. "I… my father came home—"

"Your dad's dead," he stated stiffly, shocking her enough for her eyes to widen for a moment—he remembered that?

"It's complicated… _really_ complicated but he wasn't and then he came to me and asked me to go with him somewhere and… and I did. I'm so sorry I didn't come back to tell you, I _really _am, I'm so sorry everyone worried about me… I'm _so_ sorry I hurt you."

"I didn't care," he grumbled as he turned his golden gaze away from her.

Okay, sure, she'd let him have that, he was still a prideful as ever, it would seem. "I'm sorry."

"You should have told your family that," he scoffed.

"They… thought he died when I was little. Like I said, it's complicated."

"It sounds stupid to me."

"It kinda is," she whispered, "but—"

"You should have at least left the shards; do you know what a pain in the ass is that you've had all of these?" He growled after his hand had already reached up to stanch at her necklace again, this time she allowed it without interfering.

"I know… but if I came back and saw you I don't think I would have been able to leave with my father like I did... I can't expect you to understand, but I made the right choice. That doesn't mean it's the one I really _wanted _to make, it doesn't mean that I didn't miss all of you, but I know I should have left with my father and if I could go back and make that decision all over again I'd do the same thing."

"Keh," he grunted as he let go the shards, letting the necklace fall back into place, "I don't care. Just leave the shards and go away."

"No."

For a moment, she thought his expressions altered into at least a blank one if not possibly a kinder form? But it was so quickly that she couldn't be certain if it was not just wishful thinking, "I told you, we have Tamako—"

"I'm not here to replace her," she assured with an even tone though her heart begged for a crack to make its way into her words, "I want to help. I want to—"

"We don't need you," he snapped, "alright? You were more of a hassle than _help_ anyway, I was sick of saving you all the time. I don't have to do that with Tamako, she can handle herself. None of us need you."

'I don't need you', that's what he meant, so why did he not say it? Would it have been too much for him to admit that at some point he might have actually _needed_ her? But she tried not to lament on that too long, "I swear I'll be helpful, two jewel detectors are better than one, right?"

"No, besides, all your time spent in your world got in the way."

"I won't go back anymore," she stated swiftly, surely, and that _did_ break through his cruel demeanor. Shock was a more pleasant expression than sizzling hatred. "I swear I won't, not until Naraku's dead. We don't have to be near the well at all, I promise." Truthfully, she wanted to be as far away from it as possible. "Inuyasha, I can't leave until I know everyone's safe, it's been eating away at me, I can't go away and wonder if you are alright or not of how Miroku's doing or if Sango found her precious brother," Kagome shook her head at the very thought, "please, let me help."

He mulled it over for a while before he nodded once, "I can't trust you but… you can come, _only_ if you don't get in the way. I'm not going to be bothered with rescuing you anymore."

He couldn't trust her, who would have thought four words could hurt so much? What made it all the worse was the fact that they were _true _words, "thank you, Inuyasha."

"Don't thank me," he grunted before turning around, "I really don't want you to come with."

That was all he had to say before he headed back to the village and that was probably all she could bear to hear. So she waited a while before following… he didn't want her there, but did she really want to change that?

Her heart said yes, her mind told her no.

**{~**¤°•.¤°•.¤°•.¤°•.¤°•.**~}**

_Within the bleak abysses shined one light, a small luminous glow that pulled whatever was forsaken within is full attention. The closer one got to it the more it seemed to shine but the light could not combat that darkness, the latter would always etch in more and more on its territory._

_In the center of it all, the beacon still tried to beam on proudly hidden under a lovely crystal container. The single red rose floated without explanation, it was what created the sole wavering radiance within all of the emptiness._

_The poor purity was well outnumbered, regardless, so gradually one of the outer, larger, blood red petals slipped away to float down, down, down losing its shine well before it found the ground._

_The first petal was lost._

* * *

**Striped Carnation:** refusal and/or 'no, sorry, I cannot be with you'


	3. Azalea

†**{ A** **R**_ose_ by **A**_ny_ **O**_ther _**N**_ame_…** }**†  
**x{ **_0_**3: A**_zalea_**}****x**

-•°•°•-

* * *

Early the morning after the heated hanyou permitted her to travel with them they left Kaede's village to head out in search of the final shards but, more importantly, the monster that held most of them. The only part of the journey that resembled all the times before was the fact that Shippou would sometimes hop onto her shoulder and converse with her otherwise it was like she was not there while she lingered in the back of the group watching the others. Tamako would move between Inuyasha who led the group to Sango then back to the obviously bothered boy, it didn't help the pang Kagome felt to watch the preppy priestess try and soothe him, it killed her all the more when Tamako raised her delicate hand to let it run down his arm. It was a small gesture… but a gesture that meant all the world to her, shortly after she did it he relaxed his shoulders and even _smiled_ at her.

She might as well not have been there at all…

Sango, too, avoided her and any time—which was only twice—in the day's trip that she had to speak to her she'd do it with a dull stare and disgruntled tone. Yes, she could understand why her former friend would be upset with her but if Miroku was still alive why not lighten up a bit…? She had originally thought something had happened to her precious brother in her absence but Shippou enlightened her on the truth of the matter.

"No, Kohaku was freed from Naraku a little more than a year ago," he whispered, "he's fine now and he's traveling with a sec of slayers."

"Really?" She awed as quickly as she could.

"Yeah, apparently there was a group from their village that was out on a mission when Naraku attacked. Sango didn't know they were still alive until we ran into them some time ago."

"Oh, she must have been so happy." If Kohaku was fine, more than fine, at that, then why was Sango so upset with her still? Just because she didn't say 'goodbye' before she left? Granted, that wasn't a great thing to do but did it really deserve such a cold shoulder? Or was it in concern with Miroku, and the fact that he was not doing so well?

Shippou just nodded his little head before he bounced away to climb up onto Tamako's shoulder and start a fuss with Inuyasha, some things would never change. Yet, a smile did not come to her lips, instead the frown that had already formed only deepened.

She had no place there, not anymore… but she didn't really have a place on the other side of the well, either. So what did it matter?

x-•°•°•-x

It did not really get much better, though it was not from lack of trying. She did her best to start a conversation with Sango whenever chance would allow it, yet her slayer comrade would end it as soon as it was appropriate. Inuyasha wouldn't bother to even stay close enough for her to say more than 'good morning' or 'good night', he still slept up in a tree and usually with his back to the camp. Shippou was friendly, as always, but Tamako was the kindest to her, which it made it all the harder for her to dislike the good-natured girl. She was the one that always invited Kagome to the awkward hot spring trips, she was the only one to ever ask if she was tired and would like to rest, she was the only one to offer her company when all other shunned her…

No demons had attacked them, no shards were found, it was all so uneventful and from what she gathered from all Tamako had told her that had been a norm. There must only be a few shards left that did not belong to them or Naraku and the monster was becoming more of a coward lately and barely ever attacked them.

"It's uncanny… it's unsettling," Tamako had told her, the first frown Kagome had ever seen upon the usually cheerful girl form, "he must be planning something big…"

If that was the case, she didn't want to be caught off guard, she didn't want to be a 'burden' on those that were already displeased with her even being there so when they took breaks or stopped for the day she'd pick up a bow and arrows and head off to practice, no one seemed to care if she wanted to wander off by herself.

It had been quite a while since she last shot a bow and arrow from such a primitive device, it took a few tries to get the hang of it again, and a few days to aim properly once more. A compound bow was so much more effective, in her opinion; if only she had one then she could really prove herself worthy to Inuyasha.

"I wonder," she whispered to herself as she lowered the bow and allowed the arrow to peacefully fall to the ground, she had to double check to make sure she was truly alone before she lifted the bow up and pulled back the string as if she was about to shot. She calmly took a deep series of breaths before shutting her eyes for a moment; this was going to work, wasn't it? It wasn't as if she hadn't done it a thousand times, just never with an ancient bow like the one she held.

Not to mention, her focus had been anything but perfect lately.

Her dreams were filled with nightmares of the bloodstained church, the dead face she'd never see, the laughs she'd never hear again, the soothing voice that would never comfort her again, the faded protection she never deserved from either of them…

With another breath in she opened her determined eyes and released the string to let a lustrous violet rod shoot out to hit the tree she had been using as target practice, a cringe cascaded through her when she heard the cracking of the wood and saw the damage it left. A part of her felt terrible, after all, being friendly to the environment was ever so important in her era and blasting a chunk out of a tree was anything but kind.

"Oh, well, at least it didn't fall over," she muttered to herself as she fell back with a gentle thud upon the luscious green grass. A heavy sigh escaped her lips as she lifted her left hand up in the air to block the sun from slamming down upon her hazels so harshly, the glimmer of her ruby ring caught her attention right away. A lighter puff came when she began to wiggle her left ring finger to allow the shimmers to continue, red sparkles and clear twinkles danced across her face all the while.

"You stupid jerk," she whispered harshly, "you said you were going to be fine. You promised that'd we'd meet again. You asshole, you liar… what the hell am I supposed to do now!" Childish? Perhaps, but to stomp her feet around on the ground, hit her fists upon the grass, and scream some made her feel so much better.

Anger was the second stage of grief that tore at the soul of any of its victims.

"Ugh!" She shouted after ripping some long blades out of the ground and throwing them up in the air, she brought her hands down to cover her face in a swift thud and shook it some, "I can't believe it, look what you've done, now I'm talking to myself. Damn it, Damian, this is your fault…"

Sleep had eluded her so often over the seven days she had traveled with her old friends that lying, peacefully, in the warm sunlight seemed like an ideal place to take a quick siesta, it'd only be a few minutes… probably.

x-•°•°•-x

The sun was lower in the sky, maybe an hour and a half until dusk, so she had fallen asleep for longer than she had planned but oh well.

_No one came looking for me…?_ She shouldn't be surprised but felt a pang all the same. Well, if no one cared where she was then _fine_, see if she cared, she'd just go bathe. It was the little things of her era she missed the most, a proper bathroom and all its apparel. It took a bothersome amount of time to find a pond that was secluded enough that she could safely undress. Her leather jacket was fine so she just threw it over a low branch, set her bag down and took her ring off to put inside it but her white tank top and undergarments needed to be washed though, so she did and hug them off another branch of the same tree before dipping into the almost too cold water.

"Ah," she cringed with a shake of her head before dunking all the way down.

"Cold," she whimpered when she finally came back up for air, if she was thankful for anything right then it was the simple fact that the water made her feel numb—if only for a little while. And a _very_ little while it was, since when she looked over to where her clothes and bag were she saw a boy crouching their examining the contacts of her bag, a glimmering ruby ring in his dirty hand. "Hey! That's mine!"

She must of startled him since he jumped and glanced over to her as she covered her chest and began to make her way back to shore but he didn't put her stuff down, instead he snatched up her whole bag, stuck his tongue out at her, and began to run off.

"You stupid kid!" She shrieked as she hobbled out of the water to pull on her jeans and not yet dry white tank top to chase after him, "hey, come here!"

"Too slow, old lady!" The child taunted back with a smirk as he glanced back.

"Old?" As if! She was maybe six years _at_ most older then the boy, twenty was a fine age! With added spite she leaped far enough ahead to tackle the boy and wrestle him around until she had him pinned to the ground, "you know stealing is wrong, right! Where are your parents, who taught you manners!"

"Stupid lady, get off!" The boy shouted back as he struggled, "I don't like older, big breasted _ugly_ women!"

"Excuse me!"

"Let go!" He shouted again before kicking her in the side, that was enough to get her to back off but she had her bag and, more importantly, the ring.

"What the hell's going on here?" A familiar gripe grunted.

"This little runt tried to steal my stuff!" Kagome complained as she got to her feet to point at the boy who was doing the same.

"Whatever, old lady!" He shouted while he turned about and running off.

"I'm not old!"

"You're boobs are already sagging!"

She gasped at that, swiftly bending down to grasp the first pebble she could find in hand and chucked it at the boy. Honestly, she didn't think her aim was that good, she would never initially throw a rock to smack square on a little boy's head, "oh my!" She gawked before cupping her hands over her mouth and turned her wide-hazels to the confused hanyou who had come when he heard their cries. "I didn't mean to do that."

"Then you shouldn't have thrown the rock," Inuyasha grumbled back, "the kids probably fine."

"But he's on the ground," she murmured as her eyes wandered over the boy that had fallen over after the hit, "do you really think…?"

"You are a moron, look at the trouble you bring," he shook his head as she began towards the boy, "hey, I wouldn't do that."

"Why?" She cocked her brow to look at Inuyasha before she bent down next the thieving boy, "hey, I'm sorry, are you—?"

A fist full of mud to her face was the kid's reply before he leaped to his feet laughing, "stupid lady! Big breasts make you dumber, huh?"

"Why you!" She hissed as she whipped the mud off of her eyes so she could glare at the boy as he sprinted off, "I hate kids!"

"Kagome-san, are you alright?" Tamako inquired once she arrived back to where Inuyasha stood, "what happened to—"

"Children are little devils!"

"Devils?"

"Evil, mean, spiteful, rude!" Kagome ranted off as she tried to whip the mud of her face all the more, "I hate kids!"

"Since when?" Sango asked while she walked over to them, Shippou on her shoulder, "I thought you liked them. Didn't you want—?"

"Never," she retorted with a shake of her head, "I don't want any. Ever."

"Really?" Sango muttered with a raised brow, "why…? You are so good with them."

"Children are adorable," Tamako countered, too.

"Aren't you a priestess, aren't you supposed to _not_ have children?"

"True," she frowned with a small sigh, "but that doesn't change the fact that I love them."

"If you say so," Kagome murmured back before she pushed passed her and towards the pond that her clothes were still at, that, and she desperately needed to wash her face off.

_I liked children,_ she mused to herself as she splashed the cold water in her face over and over again, now only the picture of a little, golden haired, girl with a devilish grin came to mind. A little, wicked, demon that took so much from her...

x-•°•°•-x

"So, Kagome-san," Tamako started up again the next day when they started on the journey once more, "you… don't like children? Or you just don't want any?"

"Why is this even a conversation worthy topic?" She grumbled back, but the pesky priestess refused to drop it so she sighed and finally bothered to reply, halfheartedly, "children are fine, from a distance. I like them… from a distance."

"What happened?" Sango inquired with a raised brow as she glanced back to the two gossiping girls, "you used to love them."

"It's not that I don't… it's that…"

"You don't want any?" Tamako guessed, she was ever so pleased with herself for her accurate assumption when Kagome nodded, "that's unfortunate. I'm sure you would make a wonderful mother."

"You don't know me," Kagome retorted, as kindly as she could, but still with a hint of sass. At least _finally_ they would be able to stay in a rather boasting village instead of a crappy abandoned hunt or the forest floor. A thought came to mind that she didn't really process before she let it leave her lips, "where do you get money now without Miroku?"

She closed her eyes and pressed her lips after she heard herself, the hush that fell over the ground was more than to be expect—and that hush was _her_ fault as far as her adored hanyou and darling slayer cared.

"When we help individuals they tend to give us things so that we may continue on our journey," Tamako explained, "I know the inn keeper here, he is a family friend and I am sure he will spare at least one room for us."

"Oh," she whispered when she finally pried her eyes open to just barely see Sango's cruel stare leave her for the busy streets of the town's food market.

"Thief! Thief!" Caught all their attention, Inuyasha was the first to track down where the screaming came from but it was Kagome that saw the little burglar bounce about in the crowd to escape.

"Hey!" She shouted as she started off about him, the familiar little fiend, "hey! You rude little boy, stop!"

"Go away, old lady!" He shouted back before running down an alley, if she wasn't so slim she would have lost him when he ran through a hole in a fence for certain. For a moment she lost track of him until she just barely saw him run into a small, rundown, hut.

"Don't run off by yourself, moron," Inuyasha scowled as he landed beside her but she disregarded his jeer and rushed into the bamboo, dangling, door to point a finger of accusation at the little boy who was huddling food upon the floor.

"Kagome-san?" She heard Tamako question as her, Inuyasha, and Sango entered behind her.

"You little brat, stealing is wrong," Kagome scolded as she took his hands into hers and forced the dirty faced boy to look up at him.

"Go to hell old woman! You don't know anything!"

"Akio," a cough of a meek voice tried its best to sound harsh but it was enough to earn all their attention, "please do not say such mean things.'

"Asayo," the little boy frowned as he pulled away from Kagome to go over to the little girl covered in blankets, "you should go back to sleep. These people are leaving."

"Are you taking things again, Akio?" The little, frail, girl pouted, "I am sorry if my brother took something. He'll give it back just don't hurt him, please?"

"My sister is sick," Akio, the boy, snarled as he glared over at Kagome, "and my dead died in the fighting and my mom from an illness so if you want to tell me that taking food so that my little sister doesn't starve to death is wrong then go ahead, if you want to hit me or something, fine, but I'm not going to stop. We don't have money, I can't do any jobs, no one will help us, I can't afford to get a healer to look at her. So, go to hell."

"Akio," Asayo murmured, "please don't say such things."

"You…" Kagome mumbled as she walked over to kneel down in front of the little boy, her brows bent together as she took his hands, "are only trying to help your little sister? You are just trying to be a good brother. You poor boy…" she swallowed as she clenched his hands more, "I'm so sorry I said such mean things. You are only trying to help your family… your sister, I'm sorry. I'm not that great with herbal remedies anymore but my friend Tamako-chan is really good, maybe we could help?"

Akio was taken back to say the least about the girl's reaction, he was certain there were tears in her eyes as she glanced between him and his sister, "why… why would you help me? Why help us?"

"You… you are only trying to help your sister," she frowned as she blinked away the water that threatened to leek free, "it's not fair that you'd have to do everything on your own. It would be terrible if something happened to you because you're helping your sister... then what would she do? She'd be all alone..."

"I would be more than happy to see what I could do," Tamako promised with a reassuring smile.

"Thank you," Asayo grinned back, "see, Akio, there are good people."

x-•°•°•-x

They didn't need an inn when they had a small, albeit it in need of repair, hut. Tamako put Inuyasha to work, much to his protest, and had him fix up the roof as she tracked down the proper herbs to help the ill Asayo. Sango soothed the little girl by telling her fables of a better world and Shippou played with Akio—again, she wasn't needed, but she preferred it that way. A little, at least this time, so she kept her distance and sat outside at the back of the hut with her arms loosely wrapped around her legs and her hazels staring off at the setting sun.

Do you know how hard it is to try and think of nothing? To clear your head of everything you _don't_ want to think about it? It's nearly impossible, you keep telling yourself 'I won't think of _that_' which automatically makes your mind leap to _that_. She tried to steer it away, to think 'oh, what a pretty day' but then her mind links the thought of a pretty day to other pretty days she's experienced and the people—rather, _person_—she spent a lot of those days with. Then she'd shake her head and try to innocently wonder about something else yet a chain reaction would constantly follow and one of the many thoughts she did not want to ponder about pounded her head.

"Kagome-san," Tamako chimed as she walked up, "I found all the herbs, now I just have to blend them and give them to little Asayo. There is plenty here, I'll be able to show Akio how to prepare a portion of it. She'll be better by the end of the season."

"That's great," Kagome replied softly with a warm smile, "thank you, Tamako-san."

"Not at all," she nodded before walking around to the front of it.

"Why aren't you helping with anything?" A growled inquired from above, with a sigh she looked up to see only Inuyasha's feet as he lied upon the room.

"I don't see you doing anything," she retorted.

"Keh," oh, how she missed hearing that annoying responds, "I fixed the roof. Shippou's playing with Akio, Tamako's tending to Asayo, and Sango is—"

"She'd make a really good mother," she mused.

"Yeah but you—"

"Her and Miroku would have really cute kids, too," she couldn't help but smile at the idea, a part of her had been hoping all the years she was away that Naraku was dead and everyone was happy. That Miroku and Sango finally admitted their love for one another, married, and maybe even started on a family. It was wishful thinking, she knew, but it helped her sleep at night.

"Yeah, I doubt that's happenin'," Inuyasha muttered, "you ain't doing anything, Kagome."

"What?" She inquired as she glanced up once more and taunted, "I can't hear you."

"You ain't doing anything!"

"You're vocabulary could be better," she sighed, "grammar, rather."

"You," he growled before jumping off the roof, "stupid girl. Whatever, see if I care."

"Inuyasha," she murmured but he just stormed off all the same. Apparently, she couldn't do anything right.

x-•°•°•-x

"Thanks," Akio sluggishly said with a pout, "I'm sorry I called you stupid…"

"And?" Asayo coaxed with a smile as she nudged her brother.

"I'm sorry I called you old," he muttered with a glance away.

"You are very welcome, but you should thank everyone else, they did a lot more than I did," Kagome assure with a bow of her head.

"Thank you everyone," Asayo chimed for her and her brother as she skipped up to Sango and handed her a crown of pink, star-shaped, flowers. "Thank you, Sango-chan."

"You are very welcome," Sango smiled warmly as she took the weaved Azalea and even placed them on her head to win the girls laughter, "you are very kind, I hope you feel better soon, Asayo."

"I will, thank you, Tamako-sama, and Inuyasha-sama, and Kagome-sama."

They bid their adieus before they bowed and went on their way, for another day of uneventful walking. Another day of Tamako lightly, innocently, flirting with Inuyasha and him responding the best he ever would to someone. Another day of Sango giving her the cold shoulder and another day of lonely lagging behind but that was OK. She shouldn't have expected anything else…

When they a clearing they set camp, Inuyasha hunted for food, Tamako cooked it, but she lost her appetite and wandered off to the small hill not too far from them to stare up at the starry sky and sigh once more.

"I wonder… if I never went to live with you if I'd still want to start a family someday," she muttered to herself as she pulled out a golden hair ornament from her bag and held it up to glisten in the moonlight. It had three hocks to lace within her hair so she could wear it on the side and fanned out from the crown like figure on the top into a series of twelve small chains to the bottom that looked like an old, elaborate, recurve bow that had nine flowers dangling from it. Foilback quarts, glass rubies and sapphires declared it, but all were petite.

"Some birthday gift," she muttered to herself as she sat it back down and sighed before lying down.

_Now what do I do? They don't want me here… I can't go _there_ and…_ she shut her eyes, _what would have happened if I said no and turned away, dad? What if I came back?_

"It doesn't matter," she stated stiffly to herself, "I made my decision."

Now it was time for her to live with it… the best she could.

**{~**¤°•.¤°•.¤°•.¤°•.¤°•.**~}**

_Within the bleakest of milieus, another glistening, plush, petal fell from the withering light…_

* * *

_**A/N:** Thank you very much for the reviews. I love to get them. I hope you are enjoying the story still._

**Azalea**: Fragile, Patience, Chinese symbol for womanhood


	4. Marvel of Peru

†**{ A** **R**_ose_ by **A**_ny_ **O**_ther _**N**_ame_…** }**†  
**x{ **_0_**4: M**_arvel-of-_**P**_eru_**}****x**

-•°•°•-

* * *

Gold danced with fading glimmers of ruby to the symphony of constant crackles, the heat that flowed from the fusion was plentiful, more than enough for the groggy group of five. Another dismal day had passed without a sighting of even a demon, let alone a shard, and not a trace of the fiend they sought, either. When did everything become so uneventful in the feudal era? That was only one of the many thoughts that boggled the bemused girl from the future's mind as she stared endlessly at the flames before her, her arms wrapped around her risen legs and her chin upon her knees.

"Yes, it was bothersome," weakly caught her attention out of all the other mundane talk she had been tuning out, "sometime I wish I didn't have such strange features but for the most part I am thankful. If not for it I wouldn't be who I am today."

Her hazels finally rose all the way from the campfire to the red haired priestess across from her, "were you teased?"

Tamako's brown eyes with a tinge of orange—that was only brought out by the flicker of the fire and tint of her hair—moved from the hanyou at her left to the girl across from her, "yes, often. It's nothing to complain about. It's just… people make fun of that which is different."

"Just because your hair is an abnormal color you were made fun of?" She was sure that happened but for some reason it was hard to grasp—no, actually, it wasn't. People were mean, that's that, and a simple fact of life. It was what that implied, what that meant, _that_ was difficult for her to accept.

"Mm-hm, children and adults alike thought that I was part demon or something or that I was somehow not human because of it, more importantly, it's supposed to be a sign that I am unlucky and everyone assumes that means that anyone that associated with me would be, too." Tamako shrugged, "it's alright. I think that it made me a better person and it is what led me to become a priestess, too."

They could connect—her and Inuyasha—over a tormenting childhood, over taunts about features they could not control, over more than she ever could with him… that was what she refused to process, though, it should not be like that. She had no intention of trying to win his affections from the deserving Tamako, really… she didn't.

"It's not your fault," Kagome assured, "it's just a very rare genetic trait for the Japanese. It's a recessive gene and," but she stopped herself when she saw the deer-in-headlights look she was getting from everyone. Of course, she had to remember where she was, "that means… that it is natural, it happens, you are human, it's not some unlucky stigma, it's actually very sort of lucky that both your parents possessed the proper traits to pass it down to you."

For quite some time Tamako just stared at the stranger girl on the other side of the flames before she smiled and laughed, "thank you, Kagome-san, I'm not so sure what all that means but I know you mean well."

She meekly gave one flash of a smile before her hazels just returned to the warm sensation in front of her, she had tried. A sudden rustling in the bushes beside her caught everyone's attention but she guessed it was nothing to worry about since Inuyasha did not tense up or reach for his sword. Instead of some monstrosity popping out of the greenery a little bitty white puppy with big blue eyes and a black strip around all four of its legs and two tails appeared to give Kagome the cutest tilt of the head.

"How cute!" She exclaimed giddily as she caught the puppy into her hands and raised it above her head, "so very, very adorable!"

"Greetings, Hirohito, how are you?" Tamako giggled, "it appears you have made a new friend."

"You know him?" Kagome inquired, "he's _so_ cute!"

"I think we got that from the first fifty times you said it," Inuyasha muttered only to be elbowed in the side by Tamako and given a rather stern look, to which he just scoffed and glanced away bitterly.

"Sango!" A young cry called out just as Kohaku jumped over the brush, "we thought it had to be you! Hirohito rarely reacts like that otherwise."

"Kohaku," Sango smiled in return as she waved her brother over to sit beside her, swiftly they embraced, "I am so pleased to see you. Are you alone?"

"Of course not, everyone else is just slower than me."

"That's not it!" A gruff of a voice grunted before a muscular, bald man walked out from behind the trees, "you are just a little monkey!"

"He is only eager to see his sister, no need to insult," a tall, lanky, long raven haired man explained as he walked into sight.

"Who isn't?" A debonairly handsome man inquired with a charming smile as he followed suit to sit on the other side of Sango, "it has been too long. You know how cruel it is on my heart to go so long without a single sighting of you, Sango."

"Oh, Rensei, you worry too much," she replied with a subtle smile, one of her arms still around Kohaku's shoulder, "Muro, Takashi, sit down already. Where is Nagasai?"

"He should be here shortly," Rensei replied before her dark, dazzling, eyes landed upon the foreign girl in an ever so strange outfit whom his comrades sat beside.

"Hello," she muttered as she brushed a dangling strand of her livid loose curls behind her ear, "I'm Kagome."

"Oh," he awed, "I have heard about you! You are the girl from another land, the one who brought back the shikon no tama and then disappeared? It's a pleasure to finally meet you, I'm Rensei."

"Takashi," the lanky one nodded.

"Muro," Mr. Muscular recognized.

"Nagasai," the only truly normal looking one bowed as he walked over to take the last seat in between Muro and Inuyasha.

"It's nice to meet all of you," she assured.

Then it went back to as if she wasn't there, which she was earnestly fine with. She enjoyed watching the normal scene unfold, to hear the laughs of her friends and watch as they socialized. It was like new life was brought to the group by the addition of the slayer sec. Shippou bounced about, Kirara and Hirohito frolicked, everyone seemed so happy… it was a refreshing sight, one she was more than willing to just sit back and enjoy with a smile.

x-•°•°•-x

It was decided at daybreak—when they were all forced to get up so they could carry on their way by Rensei and Inuyasha—that the two groups would join together for a while. No harm could come of it, and Kohaku did not try to hide the fact that he missed being around his sister nor did the others from the slayer squad. The more the merrier, the saying went, and, more importantly, ten and two little animal demons would be more beneficial if a battle broke out than half that.

"We have come across quite a few demons," Rensei confessed while he walked side-by-side with Sango, "but none with jewel shards."

"They are so difficult to find lately," Sango lamented.

For once, Kagome was not alone in the back of the group, Nagasai and Takashi walked beside her but rarely said a thing. She lifted her fingers up to the shards that she still had dangling from around her neck, she could tell that Tamako had a few more than she did, and if they combined their shards—like Inuyasha always bickered about—then they might posses about a half of the jewel. If it was getting rarer and rarer to come across a shard, even with someone like Tamako who could detect the jewel's presences, did that really mean Naraku, too, possessed half the jewel? She shivered at the very thought of what he would do with such power.

That horror was stricken from her mind when she noticed Rensei's hand brush against Sango's, who gave him a fleeting smile in return, "they seem close," Kagome mumbled mostly to herself.

"Sango and Rensei?" Takashi inquired, "of course they are. Do you not know?"

"Know what?" She asked, her gaze glanced between Takashi and Nagasai who shared a meaningful look before they both turned their stares to her.

"They've been betrothed since childhood, Rensei's family was the second most prestigious in our village," Takashi explained.

"Their parents were close, so it was decided early on the Sango and Rensei would wed. They are the same age, same social status, it was fitting. It would have been a fierce union," Nagasai recollected with nostalgia upon his face as he stared up at the blue sky, "when our village was… still alive, it would have been perfect, too. Sango's clearly very skilled and Rensei was quite possibly the best out of the entire village, to have the two marry and take over as leaders… it would have been great."

"W… wait," she stuttered, "Sango… and him are getting married? Really?"

"Truly," Takashi assured, "right, Sango?"

"Huh?" Said mahogany eyed girl replied as she turned her head to look back at the trio lagging behind, she quickly caught the stun on the girl's face and raised a brow, "are you two being rude?"

"That's insulting, Sango," Nagasai frowned, "we have manners, unlike Muro."

"Hey!" The bald man in the lead growled back, "I heard that!"

"This girl here didn't know you and Rensei are betrothed," Takashi explained with a tilt of his head towards Kagome.

"Did you not tell your friend?" Rensei questioned with a smile before he looked over at her, "we will, as soon as we take revenge on Naraku. Then we shall find a way to bring back the glory of our village."

He seemed so certain, so assure of himself, of their fate, and not necessarily in the chauvinistic, cruel sense, which struck Kagome as deeply odd. Rensei was anything but dull looking, seemingly intelligent, apparently a fine fighter, and a childhood friend of Sango's so, honestly, she shouldn't feel so shocked but… but… what happened to Miroku and her? Sure, they had never openly admitted their feelings for one another but there was simply no denying the fact that there _were_ feelings, deep ones at that. Were they made null by Rensei's reappearance? Did Sango love him the most?

"It's true," Sango stated, automatically earning her the bewildered hazel gaze of her former friend but she disregarded it to return her attention to the laughing Kohaku and Shippou.

She didn't look upset, she didn't have a hint of distaste in her tone over the idea, so then did that mean it was mutual? _Poor Miroku_, she couldn't help but think. Luckily, or not so luckily, a figure ahead of them caught all their attention, which meant that such thoughts were purged from the perplexed girl's already distraught mind.

"Please…" the old man wheezed before he collapsed in front of them, "help…"

"What's wrong?" Tamako sped as she dropped to her knees to examine the bloody, battered body, "tell us, who did this to you?"

"Bandits," the man swallowed, "attacked our village… their raiding it… raping… killing, please help…"

"We have to go," Sango demanded as she grasped her weapon's leather strap.

"Inuyasha," Tamako frowned as she glanced up to him, "Sango's right, we have to go help them… there is nothing I can do for this man, he is not going to live much longer."

"Alright," Inuyasha nodded, "you stay here with him, then. Muro, stay and protect her, the rest of us will go to the village. I can smell the burning and blood all the way from here, it's gotta be bad."

"Got it," Muro nodded as he took his stance next to Tamako as she tried her best to tend to the man's extensive wounds. She knew she could not save him; all she could do is try to make his last moments more comfortable by assuring him over and over again about how her friends would save his village.

"And kill the monsters… _all_ of them?" Kagome barely heard the man's meek words as she headed off with the rest of them, she couldn't help but glance back to see Tamako's pained look at his request, even from a distance Kagome could hear her reply, and the guilt mixed aversion she felt about saying it, "… yes."

"Inuyasha," Kagome shouted as soon as they got to the outskirt of the half burnt village with a disarray of individuals running around, chuckling vile men chasing frightened females, others slaughtering any who tried to defend them.

When the hanyou glanced back at her she got the feeling he had forgotten she was even there to start out with, "you should have stayed with Tamako, it's," but he stopped himself. She could guess what he was going to say, what he so often used to tell her, 'it's too dangerous' but now it didn't matter, did it? He didn't care if she was in peril, it was her own fault.

"If I stayed I would not be able to tell you there is a jewel shard here, now would I?" She retorted and right away a gleam appeared in his golden gaze.

"Where?"

"Over there," she pointed in the center of the village as the others jumped into action to ward off the bandits, all knocking out the foolish, disgusting humans instead of killing them.

"Show me," Inuyasha demanded as he began forward, knocking out any bandit that got in his or her way.

"That man," she asserted when she finally saw the rather feminine—in her opinion, at least—looking man, a make-up wearer at that, sitting upon a bench drinking sake and relishing in the mayhem around him, "in the middle of his chest, it's lodged in his body."

"Finally," Inuyasha grinned as he unsheathed his sword, "he's a demon, stay back, got it? Go help the others. I can take care of this."

She would protest but it _was_ Inuyasha so not only would that not penetrate his thick skull as he charged at the demon that just looked at him with mild amusement but it would be no use for her to really stay, too. Who could ever defeat Inuyasha? It was just a demon, and he only had one, tiny jewel shard, she could recall many times before when Inuyasha had taken down far worse enemies and to top it off, he probably only grew stronger over the three years of her absence so she sighed and hoped for the best as she slowly moved away.

Of course, that didn't mean she kept her eyes off of him and the fight that broke out.

"Are you alright?" Kagome inquired as she crouched down beside a maiden spewed across the ground, a dazed look upon her dirt covered face and a hallow haze over her eyes as she looked up to Kagome. Obviously she wasn't, and she did feel a bit foolish for asking, but what else was she to say? _How badly are you hurt_? Came to mind right as she watched her shake her head. The more she looked over the woman the less she wondered what happened to her, her kimono was ripped, her thighs bruised along with her neck.

One blaring answer appeared to her, she pressed her lips and furrowed her brows before she looked around at the chaos her comrades were working on taming, "who did this to you?"

"Some of them… all of them… I do not remember."

_Some_, really? Did a single woman need to experience such a trauma multiple times? She could feel the festering fury swirl in her chest as she closed her eyes and grasped her hand tightly around the shards she wore around her neck, trying her best to calm herself and slay the sick feeling that was rioting within her but how was that possible when she knew that this woman was not the only one lying broken on the floor?

She opened her eyes and pulled her bow out to block an attempt on her life and push the wood spear away so she could stand and knee the man with _all_ her might in the one area it would affect him the most, he squealed like a pig and grasped his groins as he fell to the ground much to her delight. Really, she didn't think it was in poor taste to slam her boot into his skull just once, just enough to make him bleed and pulse with _more_ pain. If anything, it was a crime against her fine footwear.

"Very well done," Rensei proclaimed from beside her, "I was thinking I'd have to stop that, but you noticed it. Are you good with a bow and arrow?"

"I try," she replied as she glanced over to the fight that was moving farther and farther from them, she assumed that was by Inuyasha's doing. He probably wanted to keep the damage and danger away from the village and those within it, "but… I don't think I should really shot them with an arrow… do you?"

"They are human," Rensei nodded, "terrible people, but human…"

"And what will they do once they get up?" Since everyone was only knocking them out, "go back to doing all this just somewhere else where we are not there to stop them? Where others like us aren't?"

"Do you think that killing them is the answer? Respond to murder with murder?" Rensei inquired; there was no malice in his voice, no judgmental stare. It was almost as if in the midst of all the mayhem they were having a simple enlightened conversation. One that they didn't have the time for, and were quickly made aware of that when a large man tried to stab Rensei.

_But if they were demons, you'd be killing them all,_ she couldn't help but ponder as they broke apart. Then she was truly at a loss for what to do, stay around and try and help all those wounded while the others fought? But then she'd have her guard down, so did that mean she should help out? But how, she really was only gifted at bow and arrow, she could use her spiritual power to zap a few but… she sighed and glanced over one last time to where Inuyasha was fading off to.

His sword was knocked away by the demon but it didn't seem to break his concentration on the battle. She might have sprinted over there to help if a trio of bothersome bandits didn't trying to get their grubby hands on her at the very same time. All of them were knocked down before she could think of a way of fighting them by a large spinning, familiar, bone boomerang.

"Thanks, Sango," she replied and to her surprise Sango actually gave her a nod before going over to help her brother.

"Kagome-san!" Caught her interest next, she already knew it was Tamako as she turned her head to watch the frantic priestess run her way, "where's Inuyasha? He's fighting the one with the shikon shard, isn't he?"

"Yep," she replied with a nod, "but don't worry, it's Inuyasha after all."

"I don't know," Tamako frowned as she grasped the fabric in front of her chest, "I have a really bad feeling…"

She meant to comfort her, to say that worrying was pointless, but a shriek caught their attention and both their eyes snapped over to the scene far away as the demon was shred to pieces, tinier and tinier ones with each strike of Inuyasha's claws. They both had the anxiety in the pit of their stomachs, the fear over what had happened, before he turned to head over to them and confirm their suspicions.

"He's in his demon form," Tamako exclaimed with stunned eyes and glanced to Kagome, "he lost his sword?"

Somehow the very thought didn't cross her mind when she watched it being knocked form his hand, didn't he only transform when he was in terrible danger? When his life was on the line? She didn't think that demon could be that big of a threat to him, sword or no sword, "yeah."

"We have to find it and get it back to him," Tamako declared as she began off in search.

The blood bath started once he reached the village again and for some reason she couldn't move as she watched him tear apart bandit after bandit, two, four, six, eight, ten, twelve… Muro, Takashi, and Rensei tried to stop him, to keep him at bay but that didn't work, they were only knocked to the side, Muro was even clawed. Sango seemed at a loss for what to do, too, but she decided to try and through her weapon at Inuyasha to at least slow him.

Regrettably, not only did that not work but it only seemed to irk him more as he turned his growling attention to her and Kohaku.

"Inuyasha," Kagome finally said, breaking herself free of the daze that had taken her as she took a few steps closer to him.

"Kagome, don't!" Sango shouted, "he really cannot recognize anyone in this state! Please stay back!"

_B_ut she didn't stop, she lifted her hands slowly to show she didn't have anything and just as cautiously took a few more steps, he turned his attention to her and cracked his fingers with his taunting, blood cover claws that matched his crimson eyes flawlessly, but none of that was as intimidating as his rather sadistic smirk.

"Inuyasha…" she mumbled, he took a step closer to her with his growing grin, before she stated swiftly, "_sit_!"

Just like all the times before, he slammed to the ground with quite the thud.

"Inuyasha," Tamako gasped as she quickly ran over to drop to her knees and swiftly grasped one of his hands and clenched it around Tessaiga's handle, "Inuyasha?"

"Damn it!" He cursed once he pried he face out of the ground, "I still hate that, Kagome!"

She'd almost laugh at that if not for the fact her attention lied on the worry struck priestess, the relief that cascaded across her face when she saw that Inuyasha had returned to his senses and the warm smile she gave him as he got up.

_She… really cares about him_, she lamented while she glanced away, inadvertently to the series of still warm corpses. _If he's anything like he used to be,_ which she knew he was, _he's going to be upset about this…_

x-•°•°•-x

No matter how many times he amerced his hands in the water and fervently rubbed them together he couldn't get the blood out from below his nails, he grinded his teeth together all the more at that and cursed under his breath. He didn't mean to… he didn't, he never would…

"Inuyasha?" He tensed up right away at the subtle sound of his name from behind him, back on the bank of the small stream he had found. Really, there was only _one_ person stupid enough to bother him at a moment like that and it was also the _one_ person he didn't want to see the most.

"Go away," he growled back without even bothering to look over at her.

Everyone told her not to, _everyone, _even Tamako said to leave him alone for some time but… Kagome couldn't, she knew it would annoy him, probably only make him more angry with her, but at least then he'd be mad at _her_ and not himself. She needed a break from tending to all the victims of the bandits horrid deeds, too. "Inuyasha—"

"I said, go away!" He barked as he clenched his fists tightly almost too the point of piercing his skin.

"What are you doing?"

"Damn it, Kagome, go away! It's not a hard concept; you're good at it, too!"

Ouch, she could feel a sting from that one but she just pressed her lips together as she set her loyal side-bag down before she began to remove her boots and roll up her jeans. She paused one moment to take out that ever so useful brush before she ventured into the crisp and cool water.

"You are _the_ most annoying person in the whole goddamn world!" Inuyasha grunted as he turned to glare at her, "I don't want you here."

"Alright," she replied softly, "I just want to give you something, okay? This," she wiggled the little white brush, "helps get stuff out from below your nails. I figure you must have a lot of trouble with that since yours are so long."

For a fleeting moment his gaze softened on her but just as quickly it returned to the way it was as he snatched the brush from her hands and turned his back to her once more, "now go away."

"Fine," she sighed but she didn't get more than a step back when she noticed how confounded he was over how to use the brush properly. "Here," she started as she snatched it back and took one of his hands to dip it down in the water, "like this," she was rather a pro at it, she knew how hard to scrub, how to angle it, and how to brush the blood out from the cuticles and rigid between where the skin met the nail where a great amount of crimson liquid liked to hide. At first, he protested but gave up when she took his other hand to do the same to it.

While her eyes were upon the task at hand, his couldn't help but wander up to her surreal and calm look, a subtle smile on her lips as she worked. She didn't much look like the same adolescent that he knew, she had matured and even the dense hanyou could pick up on that if not from anything other than just her looks.

Her hands were on his…

Swiftly, his golden gaze shifted away from her when she glanced up to him, "done."

"Keh," he muttered as he shook his hands off and began off towards the bank but, to her surprise, instead of heading back to the village he just sat down and even allowed her to do the same beside him without gripping.

"Inuyasha…" she began in a mutter as she rested her arms around her loosely lifted legs.

"What?" he grumbled back while he folded his over his chest, just as he always did, and shut his eyes with a scowl on his face still.

"You feel bad… about what you did, don't you? Guilty?"

"I don't want to talk about it, got it?" He snapped, "just shut up."

"You shouldn't—"

"Tamako already told me, alright? I shouldn't beat myself up about it 'cause it wasn't me, it was my demon side, blah, blah, blah, I've heard it all before so shut the hell up, I don't need to hear it from you," he snarled with furrowed brows as he stared at the colorful fusion in the distance caused by the setting sun.

"I wasn't going to say that," she assured, her gaze slowly moved from the oddly red sky to Inuyasha, "I was going to say… you wouldn't have felt any remorse if they were all demons, right?"

He cocked his brow at that and glared over at her but didn't say a thing.

"They _were_ demons, Inuyasha," she couldn't emphasize that anymore as she grasped her hands together, "they were monsters, the worse type. You shouldn't feel bad; they were all murdering, raping thieves. It's not like they were good people."

"They were human…" he coaxed.

"So?" She retorted, "humans can be just as bad as demons, if not worse. Really," she couldn't help but let a dry 'ha' out, "humans can do a lot worse to each other than a demon could. You probably saved a lot of lives, Inuyasha, a lot of woman, too. You shouldn't feel bad because they _deserved_ to die."

The wrinkles upon his forehead from his bent brows only deepened before he scolded, "that's not what the Kagome I knew would say."

"Really?" She inquired as her gaze met with his, a rather innocent blankness upon her façade, "what would the Kagome you knew say, then?"

"What's wrong with you?" He scowled, "why are you saying these things?"

"Because that's how I feel," she shrugged as she looked back out at the leisurely descending sun, "I don't think you should feel good about it but I really, really, _really_ don't think you should feel bad about it, either."

She ignored whatever surely crude thing he muttered in response before she allowed a hush to flow over them.

x-•°•°•-x

"I…" he began after the sun finally drowned into darkness. He slowly open and closed his hand as he stared at it as if it was a repulsive object, "I can still smell the blood."

A frown penetrated her lips as she looked over at his contorted features, "I think I have something that might help." She turned to her bag and dug her hands through the bag until she found the little container she was searching for, she popped the cap and took one of his hands before squirting just enough hand sanitizer on his and then some on hers too. Cleanliness was next to godliness, after all, and it was oh-so hard to hygienic in such a time period. Unfortunately, she was starting to run low on the wondrous stuff.

"This smells horrible," he complained with a wrinkled nose after he finished rubbing it in.

"At least your hands are clean now," she countered.

"I don't like this smell either," he grumbled more as he turned his cheek in protest.

"So problematic," she muttered, "I guess I have another thing, too." There really was no pleasing him, but she supposed that was pretty much how he had always been so she sighed as she rummaged through her bag once more to find a different, larger, plastic unit and pulled it out. "Here, it's lotion."

He just cocked his brow at that but took it all the same, squirting far too much on his hand in the process.

"Don't," she sped when she saw he was just going to whip it off on the ground, "that's wasteful!"

"What am I supposed to do then?" He gripped.

She couldn't allow her lotion to go to waste; she wouldn't be getting any more of it after all, so she took his hand and slowly began to rub her hands to his. Her hands were feeling a little dry. He was wide-eyed over the action, at how she slowly rubbed the ointment onto each of their hands, she even slid her fingers in-between his but she didn't think twice about it.

"Inuyasha," she murmured as she weakly clasped her hands around his and lifted her soft hazels to meet his gaze, "do you hate me? I can take anyone but you hating me…"

His eyes just locked with hers for sometime before he glanced away and took his hands back, "now my hands smell girlish."

"It is calla lilies and lavender," she frowned, "I like it."

"'Cause you're a girl," he grumbled.

"Obviously," she muttered back, her eyes lightly on him as he folded his arms into his sleeves and got up without a word to head back to the village. He couldn't even answer the question… was that a yes, then? Wouldn't it have been easy to say 'no' if that was the case?

"Keh, come on, don't just sit there like a moron," Inuyasha scoffed with a nod of his head.

A smile swiftly lifted her lips as she slung her bag over her shoulder and picked up her boots, just maybe things were getting back to the way they once were? Just a little, at least. "I'm coming," she chimed as she popped up to follow him back to all the others.

**{~**¤°•.¤°•.¤°•.¤°•.¤°•.**~}**

_Dimness dwindled closer to the glimmering glass container that hid the twinkling brittle ruby rose, the fusion of darkness to light etched closer about the only rich radiant glow, soon it would drawn out the luminous as another petal fell._

* * *

**Marvel of Peru**: Flame of Love


	5. Absinth

†**{ A** **R**_ose_ by **A**_ny_ **O**_ther _**N**_ame_…** }**†**  
x{ **_0_**5: A**_bsinth_**}x  
**-•°•°•-

* * *

There was an unspoken anxiety over the all actions that passed the day prior that lingered in the air above each of them, expect for one—the girl from another world. Of course, she wasn't pleased with the mayhem that tore through the village or the scars that all the residents would forever carry because of it but she didn't think twice about Inuyasha's 'little' indiscretion like the rest did. It was fairly obvious to her that the slayers were particularly puzzled, maybe even a little disgusted and put off by it all, so their announcement of parting ways didn't come as a shock to her either. Kohaku seemed to be the only one out of all of them that didn't give Inuyasha an odd look when he had his back turned; she supposed that was because he could understand it on a profoundly haunting level.

Sympathetic Sango just tried her best to reassure him without really saying a word, just like he would prefer. Over the years of her absence it was blatantly clear how close the two had grown, a mutual respect, a lasting friendship but just as visibly nothing more. Timid Tamako chose to stay by his side the entire day and to try her best to bring cheer back to him, to act as if nothing happened, that all was still well, and even Shippou was on his best behavior and reframed from starting any unneeded bickers.

"It has been eventful, as always," Rensei proclaimed after their gear had been loaded up once more and breakfast was finished, "Sango, my dear, I will be thinking of you, please stay safe."

"You need to stop worrying about me," Sango protested with the closest thing to a pout Kagome had ever seen on her estranged friend's face as Rensei took her hands into his, "do you not trust my strength, my skills, my—?"

"Now, you know that's not what it's about," he replied with a frank frown, "I cannot help but worry. It would be too devastating if anything were to happen to you."

"I will be fine," she slowly enunciated before taking her hands away, but in a defiantly pleasant manner instead of out of any real grievance, "stay safe, Rensei."

"I will," he smiled back, before he began off where the others were impatiently waiting for him, waving all the while to them, "Tamako-san, Shippou, Inuyasha, keep Sango safe for me. Oh, and it was a pleasure to meet you, Kagome-san."

"You, too," she replied with a nod and a wave. It was probably just deep seeded prejudice but she couldn't help it, there was just something about Rensei she didn't like. Namely, he wasn't Miroku... But when she looked back to Sango she felt another pulsing pain—regret, maybe? Would all this have happened if she had stayed? Would Miroku and Sango be together? Or did she really play no part in their drift? All the same, Sango looked genuinely happy,_ had Miroku ever made her smile like that_?

x-•°•°•-x

"Hey!" Tamako chimed midway through the day as she clapped her hands together and gleamed up at Inuyasha, "do you know where we are?"

"A little ways east of Junsei village…?" He replied cautiously with a raised brow, "why?"

"We are not far from Mushin-sama's! I think we should go visit Miroku-sama," Tamako declared as she turned to glance back at the three behind her, "what do you think?"

"Yeah, let's see Miroku!" Shippou shouted with as he giddily jumped about on Kagome's shoulder.

"Let's," Sango nodded, "a break would be nice, after all."

"Kagome-san?"

"I would like to," a great deal, it was hard for her to try and keep her excitement hidden at the prospect but for Sango's sake she felt she had to.

"Keh, every time we stop to see him we stay for _days_," Inuyasha gripped but when he finally looked over to Tamako and her loving pout, pleading eyes, and tightly pressed hands, he groaned and gave in, "fine… fine."

"Yes," she exclaimed with such excitement as she jumped up and down, "we should be there by sundown."

Dusk, oh, the agony, that seemed like such a long, _long_ time to wait to see him. Why? So many reasons, it had been years since they had seen each other but, more to the point, she worried about him the most over all that time away. He was always the one on the brink of death, always about to be pulled away into an abyss of the unknown, unfairly cursed because of something an ancestor did, he was innocent of any crime and surely did not deserve his fate, she could sympathize with that.

When they reached the hill that was outlined by the clash of colors from the fading sun which led up to the temple she almost sprinted passed the ever so close Tamako and Inuyasha but she held back and pressed her lips together as they ascended up, too leisurely in her opinion but once they reached the gate a friendly figure who held an equally memorable staff was already waiting there for them.

"I sensed you all coming," Miroku announced with that charming smile he was always so grand at pulling off. That faded for an instant when his violet stare landed on the mesmerized maiden in the rear of the group, after that registered, though, his smile returned even warmer than before, "Kagome-sama, it's been too long."

"Miroku-sama," she meekly mumbled as she made her way to him, he was _smiling_ at her, there was no allusion of resentment and no awestruck stare… he simply looked genuinely pleased to see her. That's why she couldn't help herself; she threw her arms around his neck and embraced him, "I'm so glad to see you! I've been really worried."

"And I you," Miroku chucked as he patted her back. "It is good to see you, Kagome-sama."

She honestly felt she could cry over such a small gesture, finally someone was warmly welcoming her home—well, back, not home, right? But she held back the sting and blinked away the chance of any tears when she pulled away to look over him a few times, "how are you?"

"I'm fine," he assured cautiously, it was obvious he knew what she was hinting towards, she made no point in hiding it since her hazel gaze was intently upon his cursed hand.

"We'll be staying a while," Inuyasha declared in his usual gruff and disapproving look as he glanced over the two and then to Tamako, "just a while though, we need to keep going."

"Yes, yes, Inuyasha, I get it," she mocked with a roll of her eyes, "where is Mushin-sama?"

"Passed out in the temple, I'm sure," Miroku laughed lightly with a nodded towards the doors, "he'll be pleased to see you, as always, Tamako-sama."

"I think I'm going to have to go pester him, then," she giggled as she began towards the steps.

"It's nice to see you, Houshi-sama," Sango greeted with a bit of a bow.

"And you as well, Sango."

Kagome couldn't help but try her best to analyze every part of their short contact, neither seemed uncomfortable; there wasn't a hint of hurt in their tone, or anything in their eyes to say the same, Miroku was even authentically smiling. _Are they really alright with this_? Somehow, that almost bothered her more than Tamako and Inuyasha. Speaking of which, her hazels moved about to see were the loudmouthed hanyou was but he wasn't in sight. _Must have gone with Tamako…_

"Kagome-sama," Miroku won her attention back, "I have someone I'd like you to meet, will you come with me?"

"Yeah," she nodded before letting him lead the way to the living quarters on the opposite side of the temple; he opened one of the doors for her and allowed her to go first, as gentlemanly as ever but this time without the groping that was usually attached to it.

What she saw as soon as she entered made her eyes widen to grand proportions, she was almost certain they would bulge right out of her skull as her mouth fell open. In a small huddle of blankets within a cradle was a peacefully slumbering little baby boy, at least, she guessed it was a boy but the child was too young to have that long of raven hair.

"This is Michio, my son," he explained after her awestruck gawk returned to him, "yes, I know, shocking, but a lot of things have changed since you left."

"You're telling me," she muttered, at least that enlightened her on why Sango was willingly engaged to Rensei. Finally, the lecherous monk… did the deed with another lady. The astonishment didn't wear off as he led her to the porch just outside the room so that they could sit and stare out at the fading purple sky.

"After Kohaku was safe and Rensei appeared…" Miroku began once he was certain the shock had seeped away enough so that she could grasp what he was saying, "we decided… that whatever was between us, if there ever really was something, should stop. She wanted to honor her father's word and marry her fellow demon slayer and I," he paused as his violets wandered down to his right, well wrapped, hand, "was running out of time as it was. I chose to find a woman to mother an heir."

"It was… mutual?" She mumbled while her gaze gradually went to him, "you both decided that you two wanted this… to have separate lives?"

"Yes," he nodded with a little sigh, "Sango deserves a good man that will always be there for her, I cannot guarantee either of those things. I know Rensei cares a great deal about her and is a respectable man. Together, with their crew and her most precious brother, they'll find a way to restart the traditions of their village like she truly desires. And I have a son, whom I am most grateful for, it all worked out in the end."

Her hazels drifted from him to the open door behind them and the cradle within it, "what about… the woman, the mother?"

"Michio's?" He mused as his violets followed her stare's path, "I loved her a great deal for enduring everything for me and giving me a child I truly cherish but shortly after the birth of our son she fell ill and not even the best healer I could locate could save her. She passed away fourteen days after Michio was born…"

"I'm sorry," she sped as her gaze snapped to meet his, "that's awful…"

He nodded with a weak smile, "it is. She was a wonderful woman, I really cared for her."

"How old is Michio?"

"About three seasons, he's a very good child and joyful, I don't know what I would do if not for him," he laughed lightly, almost so quietly that she didn't catch it.

"You really love him," she could tell, from the way he looked, from the smile, from gentleness in his tone as he spoke. She needn't say it but it escaped her lips all the same. It probably killed him to know if Naraku did not die soon he would not watch his child grow up, just as his father, and his father, and his...

"Of course," he replied as his eyes returned to her, "so, tell me, Kagome-sama, how have you been? When did you return to our time?"

"Not too long ago."

"And may I ask why you've returned?"

"Don't you want to know why I left?" Everyone did so why not him, too? But he just shrugged lightly and shook his head.

"I always knew that you would have had to have a very good reason for not coming back anymore," he confessed as he rested his hands in his lap and looked to the clouded sky. "I suppose you do not want to talk about either of them, hm?"

She frowned at that but mimicked his motions all the same, it was the truth, the last thing she really wanted to do was _talk_ about it, any of it... He was always the observant one in the group, too. He wouldn't understand anyway, none of them would, that's why she remained mute on the subject. Well, that and she honestly just didn't want to reminisce on it. "Thank you… Miroku-sama."

"For what?"

"Being nice to me," she muttered, "I get that everyone is mad and they have a right to be but…"

"Granted, you were the one to shatter the shikon," he had to admit that, even if it did make her cringe, "but this was never really your battle, it was something you were dragged into. You are not even from this era; your friends and family aren't here. I don't think anyone should hold it against you if you would like to simply be a normal girl in _your_ era with _your_ family."

"That's… not why I did it," she admitted humbly.

"Well," he coaxed, "I'm sure you still have a good reason, don't you?"

"Yes, I think I do," that much she was sure of, if nothing else.

"Then that's good enough for me."

"So," she murmured after a while of nothing but the echo of crickets, "do you just stay here then, taking care of your son?"

"Pretty much, Mushin helps whenever he's sober enough to," he grinned some at that, "but, for the most part, that's all I do. It's peaceful but… I must admit, I do miss the old days when we all traveled together and the adventures we'd have. Though, I do not miss all the battle wounds."

"And," she paused briefly, should she even say it? "Do you miss Sango?"

His stance stiffened shortly before he glanced over to her and nodded, "I… can't lie, I wouldn't be convincing, I do, often. But it's best if you don't tell her that, Kagome-sama, she has moved on, she is truly happy… she never used to be, there was always that tinge of regret, sorrow, and so much more in her eyes… now there isn't. I believe she really loves Rensei, maybe she always has, but… now she is content and I can live with that. I want it to stay that way but… I am still very much in love with her. That's why I can let her go, it's for her sake."

She could feel her heart contort at the calmness of his tone and how it was betrayed by the expression on his face, so mournful, she hesitated momentarily before she suddenly embraced him once more with all her might.

"It's alright, Kagome-sama," he soothed while he stroked his cursed hand down her back and held her with his other, "I know that you comprehend how it feels to watch the one you love with another. First you had to suffer through Inuyasha and Kikyou, now it is him and Tamako."

_It's for his sake that I've let go, too…_She just pressed her lips together before she pulled away to look to the wooden panel floor and softly assert, "he's better off with Tamako."

"And Sango is better off with Rensei," he countered candidly, he tried his best to smile but with the painful expression his friend gave him it was ever so difficult, "I'm fine, Kagome-sama, honestly."

"So… am I," she mumbled. She had to be, she hadn't a right anymore to be anything else anymore.

x-•°•°•-x

She gasped overly dramatically while she bounced the little boy around on her hip, one arm tightly securing him to her and the other fiddling with one of his ever so tiny hands, "you are _so_ adorable," she chimed at his little giggles, "you look a lot like your daddy, too. Little black hair and big violet eyes," she cooed. As soon as twirled around a few times until she stopped and actually gasped to stutter out, "Inuyasha, you startled me."

"I can see that," he muttered back. He leaned against a wooden post while his gaze shifted over her, "why are you so happy if you don't like kids, huh?"

"He's not a child," she protested as she shook his little hand and got him to let out a merry noise, "he's a baby, there's a difference. Baby's a really cute and very innocent. Looky, Michio, it's uncle Inu, isn't it? Say hello to uncle Inu," she requested in a goo-goo-gaa-gaa like tone as she stepped up the stairs so that they were closer to the scowling hanyou. A little laugh left her lips when Michio leaned out to grasp one of Inuyasha's fluffy ears with a gleeful giggle.

He growled deeply while he clenched his fists but restrained himself from yanking away as he wanted until Michio willingly let go of his ear to clap his itsy bitsy hands together.

"Aw, Inuyasha, come on," Kagome moped playfully, "don't get so upset, he's just a baby. A little bitty baby."

"I'm not mad at him. I am at _you_, you annoying girl," he grunted back.

"If you say so," she pouted while she continued to rock Michio in her arms. It was late in the night when Michio woke up crying. As the dutiful father he was, Miroku hastily went to check on him; much to their bewilderment he ceased his fit when Miroku handed him off to Kagome briefly. All she had to do was take one look at her friend to tell that he was tired, many of his nights were probably consumed with scenes like that, so she offered to tend to him until he fell asleep once more so that Miroku could get one night of decent rest. He, of course, protested some but in the end she won and he retired for the night once more.

That had been some time ago, though, and little Michio didn't seem sleepy until then when he finally rested his head upon her shoulder and gradually fell asleep. She smiled all the more at the peaceful, precious, look on the little boy's face.

"What?" She whispered as she glanced up to Inuyasha and his constant prying eyes that had been following her as she swayed around. "Why aren't you sleeping?"

He just shrugged before his eyes shifted down to Michio and back up to her, "you're good with kids so…?"

She could finish his unspoken question without hesitation, "so why do I not want any?" He nodded to confirm her suspicion. "Because my life is so hectic, I can't even stay in one era over another. I really doubt that my life will ever settle down enough to even resemble something normal so it would not be fair to any child," she softly replied as her hazels moved over Michio a few times, a subtle smile upon her peachy lips.

He opened his mouth just a bit to say something but decided against whatever it was as his sunlit stare shifted away from her and to the thinning moon high in the sky.

x-•°•°•-x

There was simply no way she could sleep even after she tucked Michio in, and it was not form lack of trying, either. She had lied for some time in the room she was meant to share with Tamako and Sango but her mind was restless even if she was awfully tired so she gave up and pushed the suffocating sheets off to get up, grab her bag, and go off on a little walk to the edge of the hill where she sat under the delicate moonlight. It was a curse, each time she shut her eyes she saw scenes she wished she had never known.

It had been ages since she had worn a traditional, white, sleeping yukata to bed but it was comfortable and even a little breezy. That was what she tried to focus on as she rummaged through her bag once more to take hold of a red velvet sack that held her golden hair ornament; once she held it carefully in her hand she lifted it up to cover the moon so all its features could glimmer in the darkness.

"It's probably your fault that I'll never have… want children, if I was only influenced by mother I'd love to have three but… I know you so…" she mused to herself as she dangled the ornament about gently, cocking her head from one side to the next as her hazels drifted over it.

"Why are you talking to something that ain't going to answer you?" She heard Inuyasha grumble from behind her so she lowered her gift and turned her head to see him standing there, "you are weird."

"I'm not talking to this, I'm talking to my father," she retorted while she turned her head to face forward once more. Skillfully she slid the three hocks in her hair so that it could dangle from the left side of her head as she tied her hair in a loose ponytail on that side, too.

"What?" He gripped as he sat down next to her warily.

She gently taunted back, "you know… you are suddenly everywhere I am, Inuyasha." Gradually she shifted her sitting position so her legs were folded to her left side and set her hand down in between Inuyasha and her to lean on for support.

"Keh," he scoffed with a rapid rotate of his head.

"Mm-hm," that's what she thought, "this is a gift from my father," she explained as she pointed with her free hand to the ornament. "He gave it to me when he suddenly reappeared in my life."

"Why?"

"Hm?"

"_Why_ did he give it to you?"

"He missed a lot of birthdays, New Years, and stuff," she shrugged as she tilted her head upon her shoulder, "when I was little… he used to tell me a bedtime story almost every night. In essence it was about a brave princess that fought against all these creepy dark forces in the world. She was pure and pretty as perfect as could be, or at least, that's how my father's stories always went. It really wasn't the best thing to tell a little girl before bed," she laughed lightly. "He told me all these fairytales about how she'd save the world over and over again… and he always described this hair ornament she wore. I told him that I wanted one, too, and he always chuckled and promised that one day he'd get me something like it if I was a good girl. Those are some of my fondest memories."

"You're weird," he muttered which broke her nostalgic smile and won a rather hard glare from her, "why aren't you sleeping?"

"Why aren't you?" She retorted as she leaned a little closer to him.

"I asked you first," he growled with a defiant stare.

"Fine, how about this? I'll sleep when I'm dead," she bit her bottom lip to resist a laugh when she saw that odd look he gave her for that one. "It's just a saying, Inuyasha."

"Oh," he mumbled. He couldn't ignore how close they were then, how small of a space was between their faces, or her alluring aura. Cautiously, he lifted his hand up and brushed a loose strand out of her face as their eyes met. She knew better than to do such a thing, honestly, she did. It was wrong, she had vowed _not_ to infringe on what he had with someone else—someone _better_—so kissing him was completely out of the question but that didn't stop her from leaning a fraction closer. He didn't move away, on the contrary, his fingers slid down her cheek briefly.

He didn't hate her, she hurt him, but he didn't _hate_ her, she was sure of that as she slowly closed her eyes to seal the gap between their lips but before that could happen he turned away and leaped to his feet. Disappointment panged through her but she couldn't say she was surprised as she opened her eyes to look up at the ever so alert Inuyasha.

What she _was_ staggered about was what had obviously caught his attention, the single soul collector that hovered in the sky.

"I gotta go," he declared before he sprinted off to follow the fluttering, glowing, snake like object that had always given her the creeps.

_Ki… Kikyou…? She's not dead? _Dread, authentic, vivid dread consumed her at the thought.

**{~**¤°•.¤°•.¤°•.¤°•.¤°•.**~}**

_Another petal parted from the once perfect plant to slowly drift to the glass containers bottom and join the pile of dried and crumpled leaves. _

* * *

**A/N: **Michio means road of life, by the way. I'm not sure if they had cradles but I assume they had something similar at least in the past, I don't know, but oh well. So, does anyone know how they judged time in the feudal era? Years, months, seasons, moon cycles, something? I'm not sure.

Anyway, thank you for the reviews and I hope you enjoy.

**Absnith(e)**: separation and Torment of Love


	6. Limonium

†**{ A** **R**_ose_ by **A**_ny_ **O**_ther _**N**_ame_…** }**†**  
x{ **_0_**6: L**_imonium_** }x  
**-•°•°•-

* * *

Dawn broke above the hillside, a tinge of rouge fused with navy as the sun hid behind the cascade of clouds to break through only in strands here and there. With utter reluctance the lovely youth pushed off the slightly damp grass to groggily head back to the Buddhist temple that was just in sight, trying weakly to tame her loose ebony curls in the process. Constantly she rubbed her sleep deprived eyes to try and con them into contentment. She had gotten a few hours of slumber; at least, she was fairly certain about that.

Whatever peaceful sluggish walk she had been on ceased with a terrible cringe as she heard her name chimed, "Kagome-san!"

"Good morning, Tamako-san," she muttered when she stopped to wait for the priestess to finish her trek over.

"Have you seen Inuyasha?"

_Inuyasha…?_ It took a little while before it came back to her in a haze, he had wandered off the night before in pursuit of… she bit her bottom lip as her eyes shifted away from the poor priestess, should she just tell her? "Hey, yeah, about that, Inuyasha went running after his dead girlfriend?" No, that'd be cruel, she felt bad for the girl, she could sympathize with her… she understand, completely.

"Kagome-san?" Tamako coaxed with a small tilt of her head as her gaze glanced over the evasive look upon the other girl's façade.

"Good morning, ladies," Miroku greeted followed by a slight bow of his head with Sango by his side. Instantly, the two picked up on the mild tension that had begun to fester in the air, "is there something wrong?"

"I… was just wondering where Inuyasha was… Kagome-san, do you know?" Tamako inquired once more as her brows began to furrow.

After a lingering exchange of a curious look between the spectators Sango's mahoganies moved to the one in question, "Kagome, if you know where he is just say so." She made no attempt to hide the stern, almost suspicious, tone that she so often used when speaking to her. It was equally as clear that she thought Kagome had done something inappropriate, too.

"Kagome-san," Tamako mumbled, "has something happened?"

She shut her eyes at that and bit down on her lip all the more, almost enough to draw blood, before she sighed and gave in, "well… you see… I'm sorry…"

"Spit it out, Kagome," Sango snapped.

"Inuyasha went after a soul collector late last night. I haven't seen him since, I'm sorry, Tamako-san…"

"Oh, Kikyou-sama?" Tamako mused, "don't worry, Kagome-san, he does that all the time. He will be back tonight at the latest."

Immediately, she cocked her brow at that, "you are alright with that? With him going to see her?" Her pitch implied it all, to see _her_, to see _another_ woman?

"Of course, they're bond is deep," Tamako assured with the innocent smile she so often wore, "and I respect Kikyou-sama tremendously. She is the priestess I model myself after most and an astounding woman. Why try to keep them apart?"

How could she form an answer to _that_? She just couldn't, so instead she gave her a rather gawking, stunned, stare with something very akin to disapproval spewed across her face as she shook her head and walked away from the gathered group. Sure, she allowed Inuyasha to go off to see Kikyou a few times, but it wasn't really… out of acceptance, it was out of an inability to do anything about it. Yes, sure, their 'bond was deep' as Tamako put it, but that didn't mean she could be so selfless, if that's what one would call it. To her, it was more of ignorant stupidity but, hey, whatever floated Tamako's boat.

"Kagome-sama," broke the tranquility she had found while sitting upon the porch against a post—she was certain she was _so_ close to falling asleep once more. Of course, luck just couldn't be on her side, so she pouted as she forced her eyes open to see Miroku sit before her, "I'm curious… how do you feel about it?"

"What are you talking about?"

"About Inuyasha… still seeing Kikyou-sama," he was neither a dense nor dumb man thus she could not fool him as easily as she may the others. Even thought they were not visible, her feelings for Inuyasha were still there and he knew it, too.

"Psh," she mumbled as she folded her arms and closed her eyes once more, "I just thought Kikyou was dead. I don't know, it's been three years, and it just seems like the woman would have gotten herself killed - _again_ - already."

"Why would you think that?" Miroku inquired with a lifted brow, the not-so-friendly tone she used didn't go by him unnoticed, either.

"I just did, after all, she really should be dead."

"Do you truly hold such malice against Kikyou-sama?"

"No… To change the subject," she chimed, "how are you feeling today, Miroku-sama?"

He just smiled at her for a bit before lifting his right hand up, "fine, thank you for asking. I do have to express my gratitude for your most appreciative efforts last night. I haven't slept that well in… I have no idea how long."

"It's the least I can do," she shrugged with a rather cocky grin, "I do love little Michio, too. He's really adorable."

"He is," Miroku seconded, "he is the light of my life."

x-•°•°•-x

Sun flittered between the leaves high above her head to kiss her exposed cheeks in splattered spots, it was tranquil and for that she was thankful. Just a bit longer lying under the luscious tree within the cool shade and she'd be asleep… yet, that simply was not in the cards for her.

"Kagome?"

She let out a weak, whining, groan as she forced open her eyes to see Sango walking her way. Well, at least she was talking to her again… just at the worst possible time. "Hello."

"Can we talk?" She requested as she sat down beside the girl.

With a nod she pushed herself up to a sitting position, she could feel the fixated excitement in her chest at the prospect, maybe they'd finally patch things up? "Sure, what about?"

"I think you should understand," Sango paused some before she continued wearily, "some things about Tamako."

She could just groan again at that but instead she allowed her enthusiasm to die and plopped back down on the ground, "what?" How _great_ she was for Inuyasha? How _selfless_ she was? How _perfect_? How _flawlessly_ the hothead hanyou meshed with the gorgeous, modest, miko? If so, she didn't want to hear any of it, yet she prepped herself to hear it anyway.

"In regards to Kikyou… Tamako is a little envious, it's only natural, but she is generally very accepting of it. She really does adore Kikyou and Kikyou appears to be very fond of her, almost as if she's taken her on as an apprentice or something. She lets Inuyasha go to her whenever he wants because of their past, their connection, their…" she sighed some, "love. She respects the sacrifices Kikyou made for Inuyasha and doesn't feel she has a right to keep them apart; I doubt that thoughts ever crossed her mind.

"Because of all this, some time ago Kikyou decided that once Naraku is dead she will peacefully leave this world and Inuyasha has agreed to let her go... alone. Though, no one has ever blatantly said it, essentially, this decision was made because of Kikyou's admiration of Tamako and Inuyasha's obvious affections for her. It means that Inuyasha will be with _Tamako_ when all this is finally over."

_Wow…_ _if I never left would Inuyasha ever have chosen me like that…?_ She bit her bottom lip as she slowly propped herself up with her hands and raised her knees to stare aimlessly at the ever so green grass. There was no denying the pain that pulsed through her already aching heart. Yes, she had seen some fondness between the two but… it was so subtle, the bit of her that she knew shouldn't _be_ still had a glimpse of hope. _There goes that_, she could almost laugh at her own idiocy but there was simply nothing amusing about it all. Inuyasha loved Tamako enough to give up Kikyou…

"I'm glad for Tamako-san," she meekly assured, "she's best for Inuyasha. I was always at least a little," no, she couldn't lie, "very jealous of Kikyou, that was petty of me. Tamako-san is a bigger woman than I."

Sango parted her lips a few times before she finally spoke, "that… is understandable. I don't think it's petty. It is only natural to be envious of the one you love's romantic interest."

"Are we talking about me," Kagome coaxed as her eyes shifted across her old friend's face, "or you?"

Swiftly the cruelest of glares locked onto her, "_you_. Rensei only loves me; there is no need for me to be jealous of anyone."

"I—" But Sango's irate sigh and turned head stopped whatever she might have said.

"I didn't tell you about all of this because I just _knew_ you would try to meddle. You've been gone for a long time, Kagome, and things have changed, Miroku and I no longer have that type of interest in each other. So don't try to alter things back to the way they once were. Him and I jointly came to this decision, its' for the best. I have Rensei now and he has his precious son. Everyone is happy… I love Rensei and Miroku loved Mio… I _am_ sorry she passed, but… I've always loved Rensei. Don't try to mend what's not broken." Her case was closed, she stated all that she had planned to, so she promptly popped up and stomped off towards the temple.

_Great, I just burned that bridge, again… when she was trying to mend it, too. Good job, Kagome!_ She mocked as she plopped back down upon the ground and covered her face with her hands to groan—now how was she supposed to fall asleep?

x-•°•°•-x

"Get up," Inuyasha demanded as he nudged her with his foot, "wake up."

"You have to be asleep to be able to _wake_ up," she grumbled back bitterly as she pried her eyes open once more to roll over and push herself off the ground. Apparently she just wasn't meant to have even a quick siesta, what a cruel fate… "what is it? When'd you get back?"

"Just now, everyone else is ready to go, so come on," he ordered with a nod while he turned to head back to where the others were waiting and lazily she followed. There she watched Tamako and Miroku bow, Sango and him part, and then with an awful large pout Tamako hand Michio back to his father.

"I just adore him," she assured, "he's just such a good baby."

"Yes, he is," Miroku replied with a smile and nod before his violets landed upon the approaching pair, "I have to say, I am sad to see you leave so soon."

"Kikyou gave us a lead on Naraku, we got to go now, the sooner we kill the bastard the better," Inuyasha grunted back, "when that happens I'll come back and tell you all about it."

"I'm sure you will."

"Let's go," Inuyasha commanded with a nod of his head. Though the two girls gave him a dull look they bid their adieus once more and followed him.

"Bye, bye, Michio-kun," Kagome gleamed and leaned over some so she could wave her fingers in his face, "you are so cute, I'm so sorry I have to leave so soon."

"So am I," Miroku declared to win her hazels back, "I have more faith that… all will be fine now that you are back."

"I'm not leaving, I'm not going anywhere, until Naraku is gone," she assured as she stood up straight once more, determination etched into her. "I swear. I'll do everything I can to make sure it is… in time. No. It _will_ be."

"I have complete faith in you," he replied with a warm yet weak smile, "goodbye, Kagome-sama."

"I'll see you soon," she corrected sternly.

"Kagome! Come on!"

"Inuyasha is still very impatient," Miroku chuckled, "I will see you again, Kagome-sama, but until then…"

"Au revoir for now," she nodded before she took a step away, his puzzled expression didn't go by unnoticed though, so she had to say before she ran to catch up with others, "bye."

x-•°•°•-x

Flickering flames lit the morbidly quiet camp, there was apparently just something oh-so-enchanting about the campfire that caught all of their stares. The dazed damsel born decades apart from the rest sat, as she so often did, with her chin upon her lifted knees, her hazels reflected the bouncing blazes, not too far was the equally silent slayer who sat right by the tired Tamako... who just so happened to be leaning her body against a temporary human man. He didn't seem to mind at all that her head was upon his shoulder nor her hand on his leg as her lids gradually fell, he only seemed to be uncomfortable with his mortality, as he always was on the moonless nights.

They had a lead, so said Inuyasha from his darling dead Kikyou, to find Naraku yet they had to stop and set up a secure camp for the night instead. He fussed about it but knew they had to and only Tamako could sooth him into relaxing instead of wearing himself out over something he could not help.

Did she have a right to be mildly—a tad closer to excessively—jealous of the scene across the fire from her? Maybe, but she doubted it yet that didn't make the feelings go away. That was the bother of them, wasn't it? No matter how long she had tried to learn to master them she never could, sometimes she wished she did not possess the bothersome things but for the most part she regret the very thought. Emotions were part of the soul and without that she'd be a monster… she didn't want to be one of them… never ever.

But, so often, we don't get what we want.

Perhaps it was the lack of sleep playing tricks on her drained mind, perhaps her conscious—another burden she so often wished away—was finally getting the best of her, or—worse yet—perhaps she really did see it, all the same, her eyes widened with a glimpse of golden locks then narrowed as she slowly stood up to look over at the bushes that no one else seemed to notice were moving. All eyes, though, did go to her.

Did they not hear the little haunting giggle as she did? Or see the curly haired, fair skinned, white dressed little girl with the most wicked of smiles as she ran off into the dark, endless, forest.

"Kagome…?" Shippou pondered as he hopped over to her feet and cocked his head as he looked up at her awestruck expression.

No… no, she couldn't let her get away! She needn't even think about it, she sprinted after the little devil that seemed to fade farther and farther out of sight, "wait!"

"Where's she going?" Inuyasha growled as he hopped to his feet.

"Should we follow her…?" Sango mumbled, "is she chasing someone?"

She pushed branches out of the way, leaped over roots, stumbled upon stones, all the while trying her utmost to keep her gaze upon the almost glowing girl that disappeared every now and then. With a gasp for her air she staggered out of the forest into a clearing that held an apparently abandoned inn. The roof was decrepit and caving in, webs were woven all about, dust had gathered, plants grew up the walls and through the cracks in the wooden panels… and the girl was gone. With each broken door that the distraught damsel bashed open came only an empty room, "what the hell?"

"That's what I was going to say!"

She jumped at the growl to her side and grasped the necklace that dangled just around her heart, "Inuyasha… Jesus, you scared me."

He just cocked a brow at the foreign word before glancing around, "what the hell are you doing?"

"I…" where to start? She just shook her head and sighed, "sorry… let's go back."

"Where's Tamako and Sango?" He muttered as he stepped about to look all around, "they were right behind me… Tamako! Sango! Shippou?"

The response was nothing but profound stillness, her hazels moved about the tranquil forest and back to the human beside her. How long had it been since she had seen him like that? It was so subtle, barely anyone ever noticed, but there was always that little edge to him when he was but a mortal—fear. Fear of his weakness, fear of what could happen, fear of what he could not stop… fear for others, fear for himself.

"Let's just go," he snapped as he stepped down the three stairs off the porch, "you're an idiot, Kagome."

"Whatever," she muttered back. _He wouldn't understand…_ she lamented as she gradually turned away from the empty room and hanging door to follow him. She would have, she had ever intention to, but something spun around her ankle and before she could even look down to the sticky thread her foot was pulled out from below her, causing her to slam against the hard floor only to be yanked into the room.

"Kagome!"

A scream was caught in her throat as her body was lifted off the ground while the same nasty string that was tightly woven around her ankle grasped onto her other and both wrists. _If_ she had to be dangling off the floor she would highly prefer _not_ being upside down but life was full of little annoyances. "What is going on!" She shrieked as she tried her best to struggle with her restrains but with each tug or kick she only felt the cord cut into her skin.

"Stay still, little one," a creaky, ominous voice echoed.

"Damn it, let her go!" Inuyasha shouted as he unsheathed his sword but, much to his dismay, it did not transform. A rusty old dull blade was no good in battle.

"Inuyasha, go away!" Kagome demanded while she opened her eyes to look over at him, "go find Tamako or Sango! Don't stay!"

"I'm not leaving!" He barked back as his auburn orbs glistened around to locate whatever the strings came from.

"Inuyasha?" A chuckle boomed about, "_you_ are the infamous Inuyasha? How pleased Naraku will be when I tell him that on the new moon you are nothing more than a mere mortal!"

"You work for Naraku?" He snarled back right when his eyes landed on the mass in the shadowed ceiling's corner, "I'll kill you just as I will him!"

"I highly doubt that," the creature retorted as it slowly crawled into sight.

"Of course," Kagome muttered to herself when she saw it in the little starlight that shined into the room. A massive, eight legged, six eyed, fang dripping, spider. _Of course, _she just detested spiders of all sorts but she had to be stuck with a grand one now—better yet! It was a _demon_ spider. How repugnant, she could feel her stomach turn as she struggled all the more, finally the sharp string drew blood.

"I told you, woman, stop that, in less you'd like to taste my poison. It will be seeping into your body slowly now," the demon taunted as all its eyes focused upon the necklace that was slowly sliding off her, "I'll be taking those jewels, too."

"Stay away from her!" Inuyasha demanded as he jumped the best he could to try and cut the web from Kagome but his sword was useless in that form and so was he. A leg knocked him across the room to slam through the weak wall.

The closer the creature crawled to her the more Goosebumps she got from the sight of it, a big, black and red bug with bitty, bulging crimson eyes, two fierce fangs, little hairs laced about its body. She'd just die if it touched her so she wiggled more and more and even though Inuyasha's attempt at saving her did not break her bonds it did free up the tight web enough that she could reach her hand to her bag that had fallen upon the floor. She bit her bottom lip as she squirmed around to reach out enough, cutting deeper into her wrist all the while, to get her hand into her bag and grasp a knife.

All the edges were ever so sharp so when the spider reached out one of its disgusting legs to grasp the shikon shards it was the perfect device to slice at it. A blood curling shriek of pain tore through the room and loosened the web that bound her enough to cut her hand free then her other, finally she tucked in to free her legs and slam against the floor to leap to pick up her bag, leap to her feet, and run towards the risen Inuyasha.

"Let's leave, now," she sped as she grasped his wrist and yanked him into the room that he had fallen in. She led him out of the other door only to stop and gawk at the scene, spiders half the size of the other demon crawled out of the dead forest towards them, their eyes glowing in the darkness. "I hate spiders," she grumbled as she turned to look up at the stern expression on Inuyasha's face, "I don't bow or any arrows…" she hadn't thought to pick them up when she saw the golden girl, she was just lucky enough never to have removed her bag from over her shoulders.

And he was human; he didn't say anything as he glanced over to the hole in the wall that the spider demon was banging through to get to them. He didn't have much of a choice; he pushed Kagome back and towards the opposite wall which was equally as brittle as the other rotting wood. With a bash he broke through it, if he was a hanyou that wouldn't have hurt at all but as a mortal he felt his shoulder pang.

Again, web wrapped around Kagome's ankle to yank her to the floor, this time, though, Inuyasha grasped one of her hands to play a game of tug of war with the spider demon.

"You little bitch!" It hollered, "I'll kill you!"

"I have to let go, trust me," Inuyasha demanded, of course, she did, but she couldn't reply before he released her and thrashed his dull sword into the monster's head, another cry of pain tore through the inn.

"We have to go," Kagome muttered as she found her way to her feet once more and grasped onto Inuyasha to drag him away. Unfortunately, as soon as he turned to follow her lead a fang pierced through his calf, he couldn't help but grunt over that. "Go away!" She shouted as she pulled Inuyasha towards her and shoved her hand in the already bleed face of the spider, a purple glow emanated to cause another bone cracking screech. Finally, the monster scurried back.

"My venom is lethal to mortals! He'll be dead by morning! Enough of it should be in you, bitch, to cause numbness and immobility!"

Yes, she could feel whatever little toxin had leaked into her system start to drain her but not enough to stop her, the gash in Inuyasha's leg, though, was enough to make him stumble for her support and grind his teeth. Her brows flexed together as she took in the scene around her, the appalling demon would soon return, its little spawns would arrive and there was no way Inuyasha could break threw another wall…

"I'm not sure how long this will help," she murmured as she slowly walked him to the center of the room.

"What are you talking about?" He grumbled while he let her guide him into sitting down to take all pressure off his wounded leg.

With a deep breath she shut her eyes and knelt down next to him to place her hands upon each other against the ground, her breathing extended shortly before a series of three, glowing, purple pulses radiated out from around her to create a barrier about the room.

"What are you doing?" Inuyasha inquired between winces of pain.

"It should keep them out," she slowly replied as she opened her eyes to watch as the colossal creature banged against the tinge of purple veil, "but… I don't know how long it will hold. And we need to get you treated…"

"We can't do that if we can't leave," he retorted bitterly, "and we can't leave with all the demons around and me like this…"

"What do you suggest then?" She gripped, "wait until dawn? I don't know if I can hold up the barrier that long or, more importantly, if your system can tolerate the toxins."

"Do we have another choice?" he snarled back, "what the _hell_ where you thinking, Kagome? Huh? Why did you come here?"

To that, she only bit her bottom lip awkwardly and glanced away to the hole in the wall were the demon kept bashing its body to try and break through her hurdle. "Maybe Tamako and Sango will find us…"

"Let's hope so," he muttered.

"Fine, you little wench!" The spider shouted, "you can't hold up this barrier all night! I'll be waiting until then!"

Granted, she was disgusted by the sight of the thing but it made her ever so uncomfortable when it faded away in the darkness along with all its little spawns. At least she knew what it was up to when she could see it now… "does it hurt?"

"What do you think?" He spat back as he shut his eyes tightly and pressed his lips together to muffle another grunt as he shifted his weight about.

"How do you feel—?"

"That's a stupid question!"

"No it's not! Do you feel numb? Or on fire? Acidic pain? All that matters, how does the venom make you feel?" She countered as she lifted her hand up to press it to his forehead. As she feared, he was burning up and sweat was gradually dripping from his brows.

"It hurts," he muttered back, "but it's starting to numb…" thankfully.

"Alright," she mumbled, "come here, rest," she more so ordered instead of requested as she pulled his head down into her lap.

"I don't—" he began to protest as he tried to get up but she just pushed him back down.

"Shut up, you need to relax and save your strength," she stated sternly and though it was apparent he wanted to keep arguing he gave up and shut his eyes bitterly.

x-•°•°•-x

"Déjà vu, right?" She murmured after quiet sometime had passed, she had pulled a scarf out of her bag to tend to her bleeding wrist but she could still feel the drain on her body from whatever little poison had entered her system. What made her feel all the worse, though, was the strain she felt to keep the barrier up, her energy wasn't at its best to start out that day and she felt it deteriorate more and more… all that was evident in her voice as her fingers fiddled with his black bangs.

"You use weird words," he muttered back as he turned his head away from her.

"This kind of happened when we first started the hunt for the shards, I think it was even the first time I saw you human… you were injured and rested your head in my lap like this," a small smile lifted her lips as she glanced down at the seemingly sleeping man, "it was definitely the first time you ever said anything nice to me. I decided I liked you then."

_It was the first time he made my heart go bump-bump…_

"That was a long time ago, I don't remember it," he grumbled, "… what did I say?"

"Something like, my scent isn't that bad, you kinda like it," she mused.

He twisted around once more to face her, yet still kept his eyes shut, "did I?"

"Uh-huh, what does my scent smell like? I've always wondered."

"It's hard to explain to humans… I don't know what to compare it to," he wearily replied, even with closed eyes he felt as if the room was spinning, he felt the numbness slowly take over, his mind slip and a haze cover up his senses. That's why he knew, deep down, he shouldn't be talking to her, what if he let something slip in his temporary state of delusion?

"Try," she whispered, she knew, too, that he was something akin to drunk on the venom that coursed through his veins but she couldn't help herself, she was curious. If silence took over again then she might fall asleep, she was ever so tired already, and if she passed out the barrier would disappear and they'd be as good as dead so she _had_ to try to keep her far too sleep deprived self away.

"Kikyou… her scent and yours aren't alike… but her scent now is different from her human self."

"Fabulous," she mouthed with a tart glare. _Must we talk about her?_

"When she was alive she smelled of herbs, demon blood, and something special… now she smells of dirt, bones, and clay."

"That's because she's a clay pot," she mumbled to herself and, probably luckily, Inuyasha did not catch that as he continued on.

"You smell… similar to her human scent but that special thing's different. I don't know how to explain it… I missed it… I missed you."

"Inuyasha," she hushed as she brushed his bangs off his burning forehead.

"You shouldn't have left but… now I like Tamako… she's good and a lot like Kikyou," his words were spaced yet erratic, whatever feverish state he was slipping into was deepening the more the venom spread.

"Oh?" Honestly, she shouldn't taunt a delirious man that she owed her life to a thousand times over but she simply could not help it, "more than her and I?"

"Keh," he snuffed, "you are nothing like Kikyou."

"Ouch," she gripped.

"That's not a bad thing," Inuyasha assured meekly as he rubbed his head against her lap some, "I miss you."

"I'm right here," she whispered back as she stroked his hair while he slipped into slumber. "I'm sorry I hurt you," she softly said before she leaned down to kiss his forehead, "I'm so sorry." Her hands moved down his hair to his shoulder and down his kimono a few times, a small crackle caught her attention each time before she stopped to find the source of the ruffle. With a pout and cocked brow she reached into his kimono, though she knew she probably shouldn't, and grasped onto a piece of paper folded and safely tucked away. It took a lot of gently wiggling to pry it out.

Her confusion only intensified as she unfolded it, "Inuyasha…" she awed with wide eyes. It was a picture that was worn, with four profound lines from how often it had been folded. A part of it was a little torn, there was a stain on one edge, but the image was still very visible… her, on the beach in her blue and white polka dot swimsuit. It took a little longer than it should have to remember what he had first told her. What stopped the search for her was a letter with a few pictures of her joyfully hanging out with friends, he must have taken one of them… more likely her mother simply gave it to him.

"Oh, Inuyasha, you kept this with all this time?" Her lips curved down lightly as her eyes moved from the photo to his peacefully sleeping, sweat covered, face. "Huh," she murmured as she began to fold and put it back, "that's kinda perverted; I _am_ in a bikini…" She patted his chest when she was sure it was secure once more, "I'll just pretend I didn't see that. I am really sorry," she whispered as she bent down to hug him and rest her forehead against his, "I'm sorry…"

x-•°•°•-x

"Stop," Kagome laughed giddily as she held out her hands to block the camera's lenses, "jeez, how many pictures do you need to take, Lilith?"

"I'm just commemorating the happy moments," the fair skinned girl with tan tresses pouted before she lowered the camera to skip over to a distracted, awestruck, auburn eyed boy. "Damian! Stop staring at all those girls, you pervert!"

"Shut up, Lil," he snapped back only to start another endless argument with her. Kagome only shook her head with a smile as she walked away only hearing bits and pieces. Her lips curled up all the more as she dug her bare feet into the sand; it was divine the way the warm grain felt between her toes.

"Kagome," caught her attention meekly as she glanced up to the man that was walking down from the pew.

"Dad," she sighed but didn't let that ruin her cheer, "you are the only person that would come to the beach in a dress shirt, slacks, and loafers. You should be wearing a bathing suit like the rest—"

"Playtime's over," he stated stiffly with a nod of his head, "come with me."

Regrettably, that did manage to slay her joy as she pouted and bent down to pick up her towel, sandals, and pull on her see-thru white drop-waist cover-up that clung just below her shoulders as followed her father off the sand and to the busy streets. There was no point in asking where they were going so she just whipped her feet off and slid her sandals on as she blindly trailed him. Eventually, they came to a shop of sorts and headed into the back where there was little more than a table and grungy walls.

"Aren't we on vacation, dad? Shouldn't _you_ try to have fun, too?" She inquired after she slowly took in the room. Apparently, her question didn't merit a reply; all he did was pull out a clothed item to hand out to her. Suspicion crossed her contorted face as she slowly took it from him before gently pushing the fabric off to reveal a knife with a multitude of silver sketches upon the blade, "what is this?"

"You know."

She let out a dry laugh as she let the knife slid out of her hand and land of the wooden table with a careless thud, "honestly, I try really hard… but I can't ever recall you ever _really_ smiling. Do you know what fun is? Do you know what a _vacation_ is?"

"We can never take a true vacation, Kagome," he retorted in his voice that was ever so bothersome, could he sound more monotone? "I need to know that you'll use that if the time comes."

"I don't know what you are talking about," she muttered back with a dull look as she placed her hands upon her hips.

"Yes, you do."

"No, I don't," she bickered back with a shake of her head, "let's just try to have a good time for once. We're in _Nice_! It's a beautiful day, the water is perfect, why can't we just have fun for _one_ day without talking about something morbid?"

"We only came here so I could acquire that," he nodded once more to the knife, "I need to know that—"

"What?" She snapped, her brows flexed together in the process, "how could you ask me that?"

That gave him pause for a moment as his emerald eyes glanced over her, "this isn't a hard concept or conversation. It's an easy one that we need to have, I need to know."

"_Why_?"

"I just do," he stated simply, "if I am ever possessed I need to know that you'll do the right thing."

"And what's that?" she grumbled, his eyes just moved back to the knife, "what are you, stupid? Of course I would never! I would do everything in my power to—"

"There are times when there is nothing that can be done," he reminded her as his eyes locked with her fiery hazels, "I need to know if that ever happens that you will just kill me, Kagome. I would prefer that."

One, humorless, laugh left her lips as she glanced away and shook her head, "how could you ask me that?"

"I'm finding it difficult to believe that you didn't already know all this, are you so ignorant?"

"What if I were possessed?" She grunted, "would you kill me?"

"Yes."

Something inside her broke at the ease in which he used to say that, he didn't even try to elaborate, how could her question be worth only a one word response? "How… how could say that?"

"I would rather you be dead than possessed, I'd rather be dead than that, too," he shrugged. "This really is not a hard concept; I need you to understand it. When the time comes I need—"

"When?" She snapped after she crossed her arms below her bosom, "damn it, dad! This is all because you went to see another psychic, right? Stop it! I've told you not to go to them! They are arrogant and generally useless! What? Did one tell you that you'd be possessed soon or something? God, dad, please stop going to them! It's a waste of money, you're a stingy man, that should be enough to make you stop."

"That's beside the point," he assured, as always, disregarding whatever her demeaned undeserving of even addressing. "The way we live, it's always a possibility; it's time we address what to do."

"Tell Damian to do it," she barked, "or Lilith or any of the others. I refuse."

"They already know this; they've already come to terms with it, now you need to. If either of us were ever to fall prey to—"

"Stop it, I don't want to hear it!" She shouted and turned her head away to lift her hands up in order to cover her ears.

"You are being childish," he sighed while his hand reached out for the knife she had dropped, "this is a simple conversation. Just say yes already."

"Seriously, what the hell? Did a psychic tell you something would happen? Why do you waste your time with them! They're wrong half the time!"

"And right the other half," he mused while his gem like eyes glistened over the elegant blade.

"Did a psychic tell you something bad would happen, is that really what this is all about?" A crack in her voice caught her father's attention and loosely earned a glance. "Do you ever ask them what'll become of me? Do you ask about Damian, Lilith, all of us?"

"I never ask about you," he said in such a subtle hush that it almost warmed her heart.

"Why…?"

"You cannot change the future, even if you know it is coming and the worst fate for any father is to outlive any of his child."

"Yet," she paused while she pressed her lips together, "you'd really kill me if I were to be possessed?"

"Only if nothing else could be done… more importantly, though, as long as I am alive I will never allow that to happen," he declared as he turned the blade around to hand the knife to her, grip first. Reluctantly she took it, "I need to know, Kagome."

"As long as I am alive I will never let that happen to you, either," she mumbled.

"That's not good enough," he shook his head, "if it did happen—"

"I could never."

"Kagome—"

"No."

"Fool," he cursed coarsely, "you cannot let your emotions get in the way like this."

"At least I _have_ emotions," she countered cruelly as she stabbed the blade into the table. "I _have_ to ask, why a man like you would ever have children anyway. After all, life's such a bleak thing to you. You know the truth of the world, the evil that lurks about, why would you ever bring a child into it? _Why_?"

His gaze was relentlessly locked on her as he considered her question, "I wouldn't know what happiness is without them, without you."

His fragile words softened her swiftly as she lifted her hands to cover her mouth and blinked away the sting in her eyes.

"I know it's wrong," he reflected briefly as his fingers wandered over to wrap about the handle, "a father shouldn't have a favorite but you've always been mine. It was hard for me… to leave you, to know what a fate I had bestowed on you at birth. I do love you, Kagome," both knew how rare of words those were, "that's why I need to know if you would do the right thing if the time came. I could never… I would never want to be a tool to harm you."

She bit her lips together while her hazels took in the surreal sight before her; a tinge of sorrow was evident on her usually stoic father's face. What had a psychic told him? Was she to lose him soon, was that why he said such nice things all of a sudden? She swallowed back a sob as she meekly nodded finally, sniffling back snot but the tears that cascaded down her cheeks couldn't be stopped.

"Say it," he requested.

"I… will, I will," she repeated behind her hands as she shut her eyes.

"Good, this is yours; I want you to use it to protect yourself in any manner possible. I really would hate for something to happen to you the most."

Again, she just nodded as she tried to whip away the trickling tears but they wouldn't stop. "Is something going to happen…?"

She'd never get an answer to that; their private session was intruded on by a baffled yet still very debonair Damian, "hey, old man! What are you doing this time? Kagome," he coaxed as he sped over to her and placed his broad hands on her shoulders, "what'd he say now?"

"I'm going to return to the hotel, please return before dark," her father instructed before he existed the little room.

"Kagome, come on, stop crying, you know how it makes me feel to see you cry." He frowned as he reached down to pull out a red, square box with a golden rim design from his pocket, "hey, I got something for you, OK? This'll cheer you up for sure."

"What is it?" She murmured dimly before he placed it in her hands so she could examine it closer.

"Open it to find out," he nodded with a smirk as his auburn orbs moved from the box to her slowly calming expression that automatically lit up when she flipped up the lid.

"Damian," she gawked, "oh my… this is beautiful…"

"I thought you'd like it," he gloated with a shrug, "the center ruby's even crafted into a rose, I know how much you like those."

"Damian," she gingerly dragged out as she looked from the ring in the box to his proud face, "Damian…I…"

"You don't have to say anything," he assured softly before his focus shifted from her to the gradually opening door, "hey there, little one, what are you doing back here?"

"I can't find my mummy," an angelic voice whispered.

"Oh, is that so? How about we help you find her?" Kagome inquired as she put the ring back in the box to turn around and look at the little girl of about ten, a petite pout on her little pink lips, delicate skin that barely knew the sun, and long, frilly, golden curls.

"Please," she requested after she walked up to take Kagome's hand and stare up with her chestnut eyes with a dash of gold...

x-•°•°•-x

"I can take them now," barely earned her attention, "_Kagome_?"

"Huh?" Groggily she murmured, her eyes weren't closed but they weren't focused on anything either so it took a few blinks for her to be able to see the silver haired hanyou beside her. _When did the sun come up…? Whatever._ She knew what that meant so she shut her eyes and relaxed fully, _finally_.

Her barrier faded right as she felt Inuyasha's presence leave her side and besides the occasional grunt, shattering wood, squeals, and sword slashing threw flesh she didn't bother to pay attention. Even if she wanted to, she doubted her lids would lift up. The demon was probably weak, or Inuyasha was stronger than she remembered, perhaps she fell asleep for a while, but the battle—if it could even be called that—didn't last long. She felt a hand under her arm to pull her to her feet.

"Kagome?"

"I'm good," she assured while she raised her hands up to her eyes to actually pry them open.

He ordered, "let's go find the others," and headed out without even a second glance to her. She didn't protest as she unsteadily staggered to the door and out into the barely risen light, even though it was faint it was too much for her eyes. There was too many reasons why she might have tripped over her own feet that she didn't even try to justify the mistake when it happened, luckily, though, she grasped onto a wooden post upon the porch to keep from falling all the way to the ground.

"You're worn out, huh?" Inuyasha sighed; unenthusiastically he turned around to kneel down in front of her, "get on."

Again, she didn't bother to argue and just climbed onto his back so he could wrap his arms around her legs and stand up again. "I missed stuff like this… it's just like old times."

"Not really," he grunted back as he shifted her weight around just slightly, "you're heavier."

"Asshole," she hissed before smacking him upside the head, she had plenty of energy to put force behind that, too.

"It's because you're taller now," he snarled back, "I didn't mean it as an insult."

"You noticed?" She mumbled, astonished, she had barely grown at all.

"Keh," he grumbled back, "hey, how'd you do that thing with the barrier? Since when could you do stuff like that?"

"Do what?" She innocently pondered as she rested her head against his shoulder.

"Don't play stupid with me," he growled.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she insisted while her lids kept flickering shut.

"Yes, you do! That barrier thing, you knew how to make it, since when?"

"You give me too much credit," she muttered, "it was pure luck."

"I don't believe that."

"Fine," she yawned, "see if I care."

"You are an overly annoying, bothersome, girl," he complained crudely. To his surprise, she didn't argue with that, though, that probably had a lot to do with the fact that she had fallen asleep. Her breath deepened and evened along with her heart beat as he trekked on back to where he was sure they had camped the night before, the others were probably there, right?

Somewhere along the way her head had slipped closer and closer to his neck, he had always felt her breath but the farther they went the closer it got until he felt her lips against his skin. It was a mistake, obviously, since she was slumbering but he stopped in his tracks instantly and shivered but… in a good way, in a heart throbbing, painful, way, too. He swallowed back whatever stilled him and nudged her with his shoulder until their skin was apart and balanced out her weight once more.

For an instant, he felt a pang of regret for having done that since… he might just have been a little happy that she was finally back.

**{~**¤°•.¤°•.¤°•.¤°•.¤°•.**~}**

_A tender, hushed, snap echoed about the empty abyss, so quiet that if it were anywhere else the noise would not have been heard as another petal broke free from the thorn covered stem._

* * *

**A/N:** First and foremost, this** isn't **by any means Kikyou bashing. I don't want anyone mistaking this story for such rubbish. If I ever reduced myself to blatantly bashing a character in any of my stories (_particularly _my favorite of them all, Kikyou) I would stop writing all together. Period, end of story.

Now, this isn't necessarily really friendly to my dear Kikyou either-which is very hard for me, I must admit-because it is mostly from Kagome's POV over anyone else and she doesn't much care for Kikyou in this stories for reason shown later.

Thank you for the reviews, by the way! And I hope you continue to enjoy.

**Limonium**: sympathy, remembrance, lasting beauty


	7. Globe Amaranth

-•°•°•-  
†**{ A** **R**_ose_ by **A**_ny_ **O**_ther _**N**_ame_…** }**†**  
x{ **_0_**7: G**_lobe_** A**_maranth_** }x  
**-•°•°•-

* * *

Nothing but the burnt wood from their fire marked the site where they had camped, which puzzled the hanyou gravely. Where was Tamako, Sango, or even Shippou? Could something have happened to them over the night? Could harm truly have come to Tamako while he was not around? No, he just couldn't think like that, he wouldn't know what to do with himself if that was the case so he tried his best to calm his nerves, to keep the twisted anxiety that formed a near suffocating knot in his chest to a minimum as he, again, adjusted the slumbering girl's weight on his back. Each time his golden gaze gleamed over the campsite nothing stood out. Perhaps they had just got lost in the woods?

It took a few deep breaths to find a trace of Tamako's treasured aroma, it would have been far better if he didn't have to carry Kagome on his back while he tried to follow it, "you are such a bother," he grumbled bitterly to the sleeping beauty as he started another trek through the forest. The farther he traveled, the harder it was to segregate one scent from the other, the more tangled Tamako's got with the surroundings, "damn it," he cursed as he paused to glance around once more.

He couldn't do it… not if he had to cart Kagome around and, really, the more he thought about it the more he was sure that the dilemma he found himself in was all _her_ fault. She was the idiot that went running off after who-knows-what, she was the sole reason that he was alienated from his comrades, it was all _her_, so he didn't feel too bad about removing his arms from around her legs and letting her fall to the ground with a thud. As soon as he got the chance he stretched before turning to look down at her, it was really awe-inspiring to see she had somehow slept through that fall. "You've had your nap, now get up," he ordered with a nudge, "Kagome! Wake up or I'm just going to leave you here!"

And, really, he wasn't lying.

Reluctantly she groaned as she rolled over to rub her eyes, "what?"

"Get up!"

"Why…?"

"Fine, see if I care, I'm just going to leave you here," he grunted. He didn't have time to waste on her so he returned his attention back to trying to relocate Tamako's scent, it was easier once he could be on all fours and sniff the ground.

"I forgot how funny you look when you do that," she yawned as she groggily got up only to feel a terrible pang in her back, "ouch."

"Bitch," he growled as he shot her quite the glare.

"What are you looking for?"

"Tamako," he grumbled, "they weren't at the camp. I can barely find her scent…"

"I'm," she murmured as she slowly walked over to him, "sure she's fine."

"We won't know that until I find her, so just shut up and follow," he ordered and so she did just that. She didn't have the energy to argue with him, nor the patience at the time, so she just remained mute as they ventured through the vast forest. She was certain they crossed the entire place when they finally broke free to meet the high, blinding sun.

"Her scent is strong," Inuyasha muttered as he sped to the nearby village, halfhearted Kagome followed but far slower than him so when she finally reached the outskirts of the town she had missed whatever trigged Tamako rushing over to embrace Inuyasha. At least she was right, she supposed, Tamako was alright and so was the spectators of the scene, Sango and Shippou.

"I was so worried," Tamako mumbled as she grasped his red clothe all the more, "I'm so glad you are alright! We were looking for you all night. It's so dangerous for you to go off on your own on nights of the new moon, you know that," she scolded before she shook her head and gently pulled away so her shaky stare could meet with his sympatric one, "I was worried…"

"I'm fine," he assured as he placed his hands on her upper arms, "you should have just stayed at camp, it took forever for me to track you here."

"Sorry," she sighed, "but how could I have done that? We had to try and find you; we really hoped you were here. It felt like we searched the entire forest, where were you?"

That was it, she couldn't watch the heartwarming reunion anymore, so she just sighed and turned her back to it but apparently she wasn't allowed to walk away, Sango made sure of that.

"What was that last night? You better have a good explanation," she asserted with quite the contorted look on her face.

Honestly, she understood the hostility, she probably deserved it—no, actually, no she didn't. Granted, saying goodbye would have been the best thing to do but she _had_ to leave. She _had_ to go with her father; she had every right to, too. Moreover, she earnestly didn't want to deal with it at the moment. She just waved off the questionnaire and took a step away, "later, later, I'm tired."

"Kagome—" Sango began only to be overshadowed by a shout from Tamako.

"I have good news!"

"What?" Inuyasha inquired with a cautiously cocked brow.

"While we were looking for you I ran into an old friend of mine, he is a priest that helped me while I was training to become a priestess. Oh, he was very kind to me," she mused with the brightest of smiles, "he is fairly old now and I heard he fell very ill but he is cured now and will live."

"Great," Inuyasha wearily replied, he got that it mattered to Tamako but not only had she never mentioned the man or his illness before but none of them knew him so what merited such merriment?

"Wait, this is the important part," she assured as she clapped her hands together to interlace her fingers, "he would have surely died if not for a spring to the south. It is said to be able to cure all sorts of ailments, _curses_ included. It is very difficult to find and you can only do so if someone that has already found it tells you how to get there. I believe it is some sort of masking spell."

"So…?"

"Miroku," Sango stated simply with a shake of her head at the ignorance of Inuyasha, "Tamako-chan was able to convince her old sensei to tell her how to get to the spring. We should surely spare the time to tell Miroku about it and how to find it."

"I guess we could do that," Inuyasha grumbled rather irately, "but Naraku—"

"Is exactly why we can't just _tell_ him about it," Kagome interrupted as she glanced around at the four others, was she really the only one to think about that? "He's wind tunnel is very bad now, right? He is in _no_ condition to travel a long distance alone. He has a lot of enemies, just like all of us, we should take him there ourselves."

"No way!" Inuyasha snapped, emphasizing his position all the more with a large gesture of his arm to go with his outrage. "Kikyou just gave us a lead to find Naraku, we have to check that first!"

"Yeah, and how often has _that_ worked, huh?" Kagome ridiculed as she loosely crossed her arms under her bosom, "this spring could save Miroku _now_, his wind tunnel's getting worse _now_, Inuyasha."

"His wind tunnel will be gone if we find and kill Naraku!"

She couldn't help but roll her eyes at that, "how many times have you followed a 'lead' by Kikyou only to fail? How often have you gone rushing after Naraku only to have him get away at the last minute? I don't know about all of you but I would rather spare the time to take Miroku to the spring and save him now instead of letting him die over an 'attempt' to defeat Naraku."

"And that goddamn spring might not work, either," Inuyasha growled.

"I would still rather try that," she shrugged, "I don't care if you all aren't coming, I'm going to go with Miroku."

"Whatever," Inuyasha scoffed, "crushing Naraku doesn't really matter to you anyhow."

"That's not true!"

"Yes it is!"

"Please," Tamako broke in as she stepped between the fuming female and infuriated Inuyasha, "let's not fight. I think that Kagome-san is right; I think that we should take Miroku there. It would be far too dangerous for him to travel alone and while we might lose Naraku's track I would be able to continue on our journey with a clear conscious knowing that we've done everything we can for our friend."

"Tamako!" Inuyasha grunted, "don't take her side!"

"I will when she is right," she retorted, "Inuyasha, Miroku is a dear friend, when I spoke with Mushin-sama he told me that he only has a… a season at most left… If this spring works then he will live, his son won't have to grow up fatherless, please, consider the importance in this. What if we simply told Miroku where to find the spring and something happened to him along the way, could you really look me in the eyes and say you would not blame yourself? That you would not feel extreme guilt? Please, let's escort him to the spring."

It was clear in his rigid stance and clenched fists that he wanted to argue but Tamako's logic got to him, her pleading big brown eyes broke through his stubbornness so he just scoffed, "fine, whatever."

"Thank you, Inuyasha," Tamako smiled.

It was terribly difficult to justify her mild dislike for the pious priestess when she showed her kindness like that… but that little bitch envy was an equally difficult thing to get rid of, too.

x-•°•°•-x

"Welcome back?" Miroku greeted curiously once he noticed his friends return, he had sensed their presences but thought it was only wishful thinking, they had_ just_ left, why would they come back so swiftly? It was not until he actually saw them enter the courtyard that he was resting in that he believed his senses.

"Michio-kun," Kagome cooed as she dropped to her knees in front of the infant, "how are you?"

"Why the sudden return?" Miroku inquired as his violets shifted over the giggling girl to the others.

"We have something grand to tell you, Miroku-sama," Tamako began with the brightest of smiles.

"Tamako, Sango, Inuyasha?" The bald, baffled, Mushin called out from the porch, "what are all you doing back here so soon?"

"We come bearing good news," Sango assured.

"There's never enough of that," Mushin declared, "I just made us a meal; there is plenty for everyone if you'd like to join. It's nothing special, rice, purge, and tea."

"That sounds wonderful, Mushin-sama," Tamako accepted with a respectful bow of her head before she followed him into the temple along with the rest.

"What's going on, Kagome-sama?" Miroku murmured as he stood up to brush off his robes of the dirt, his eyes focused for the most part on his friend as she picked up his son to take him in with them.

"We might have found something that will help your wind tunnel, Miroku-sama," she replied in an equally hushed voice, she might have explained more if Michio didn't find a growing fascination with pulling her hair, earlobe, and cheek.

"Michio, stop doing that," Miroku sighed, "I'm sorry."

"It's nothing to apologize about," she assured as she sat him down in her lap while they joined the others in the room where they each had a mat to sit on and a wooden tray with two bowls and a tea waiting, "he's just a baby, after all." The little gleeful noises he let out as he flung his arms around were too precious; it was the small things in life that still managed to bring her aching heart warmth.

"So," Miroku coaxed as he glanced from face to face, "what is it… exactly?"

"Have you ever heard of Shinsei Springs?" Tamako questioned after a swift sip of her refreshment.

"I have, it's rumored to have mystical healing powers but," he paused briefly before he raised a brow, "it's also just a myth, Tamako-sama."

"No it's not," she countered with a bit of a frown, "my sensei recently traveled there to cure himself of an illness that would have surely killed him. You can only find the location if you are told how to by someone that has already been."

"I've found a few people that have claimed to have gone there, they each told me how to locate it but I was never able to find it, I followed their directions exactly," Miroku assured. "It is very kind of you to think of me, though, Tamako-sama. I know you mean well."

"You probably were not the first person they told the location to," Tamako guessed with a smile, "there is some kind of masking spell over the spring. You must not only find someone who has already been there in order to locate it but you _must_ be the _first_ person they tell, otherwise you cannot locate it. Everyone would be able to find it by now if you could tell anyone you meet. Also, you can only find the spring once so if we do go we would never be able to return."

"Is that so?" Miroku mused feebly, "I understand you are trying to help but didn't Kikyou-sama tell you how to locate Naraku?"

"Yeah," Inuyasha grumbled only to receive a swift elbow to his side from Tamako.

"That is not as important as your well-being, Miroku-sama," she assured.

"We've decided to push that off until we take you to the spring," Kagome explained further, "please accept our offer, Miroku-sama."

"Kagome-sama," Miroku muttered while his stare locked with hers before he pried it away to look to all the others, "Tamako-sama, Sango, Shippou, Inuyasha, thank you, but I really shouldn't leave Michio alone and I think that you should follow Kikyou-sama's lead."

"We've already decided to do this, Miroku," Inuyasha gripped.

"I really should not leave Michio alone," he repeated.

"He wouldn't be, Mushin-sama is here," Tamako reminded.

Though, he'd probably not say it allowed, Miroku couldn't really think to leave his infant with the old drunkard. He did a fine job of raising him but that was when he was already a child, he doubted that Mushin would know what to do with a little child that he'd have to give all his attention to constantly. "I really shouldn't…"

"Miroku-sama!" All of them exchanged looks before their attention went to the opening door, it seemed that luck was on their side as the raccoon demon Hachi entered, "I have come to… hello, I didn't expect so many people…"

"Hachi," Miroku gleamed, he wouldn't feel the greatest about leaving Michio in the care of Hachi and Mushin but it was better than _just_ Mushin, "I have a favor to ask of you."

"What is it?" The raccoon warily inquired as he slowly entered the room all the way.

"I have to leave for a short while; will you stay and watch Michio for me?"

"Miroku-sama," Hachi groaned, "you know how Michio likes to play with my tail and ears…"

"Shippou," Kagome whispered while the persistent monk tried to convince his friend to do as he requested, "would you mind staying here, too? I know I would feel a lot better knowing you were here watching Michio. Protecting him, too," she had to play on his pride some.

"I suppose," the little kitsune nodded, "without Miroku here to make sure he's safe he _would_ need someone else to protect him, in case of a demon attack or something."

"Exactly," Kagome smiled, "you are so brave, Shippou."

"Good, then it's settled," Miroku stated, "you'll stay and watch Michio while I'm away."

"But Miroku-sama," Hachi whined all the more, "I only came to visit for a short while."

"Perfect, we will only be good for a short while," he countered, "will you really not grant me this favor, when it could save my life? Would you rather Michio grow up without a father? Would you rather I—?"

"Fine, fine," Hachi groaned as he covered his ears and shut his eyes, "fine, I'll do it!"

"Great, then we'll leave tomorrow," Tamako declared with a reluctant nod of approval from Inuyasha.

x-•°•°•-x

That night, like every other one, the haunted woman couldn't sleep for too long, though she did more so than in weeks. Before dawn broke she was wide awake and peacefully wandering through the little garden that either Mushin or Miroku must have kept up, with a smile upon her lips she knelt down to examine the gradually blooming flowers closer, cupping some of them gently in her hands, taking special care not to break them from their stems.

"Can't sleep?" Startled her greatly until she turned to see an almost laughing Miroku there, "sorry, I should have known you didn't notice my presence. You seem so enchanted by the flowers."

"They are very pretty, who tends to them?" She inquired as she returned her hazels to the colorful flower in her hand.

"I do," he murmured as he situated himself next to her.

"Why?" She whispered, she knew he respected nature but it seemed odd to her that he would go out of his way to plant a garden when he had a baby to monitor, too.

"Mio, Michio's mother, I brought her here to have him, where it was quiet and tranquil, where there were no judgmental stares. She liked it here a great deal but didn't know what to do with herself for the most part so she started this garden," he smiled weakly as he softly stroked the petals of a flower, "she loved it. I've been keeping it up in her memory."

"I'm sorry," she mumbled, "I didn't know…"

"There is no need to apologize," he assured, "so, tell me, Kagome-sama, why are you not asleep?"

"I slept long enough," she shrugged, "why aren't you?"

"Anxious, I suppose, it's been a very long time since we've all traveled together… I think it will be nice, even if the spring does not do any good," or is not real at all, for that matter.

"I think it will," she assured, at least, she hoped and prayed it would.

He only nodded at that before a sly smile crossed his lips, "so, tell me, how are things between you and Inuyasha going?"

"Don't meddle," she ordered crossly, "do you see me trying to fix things between Sango and you? No, so don't do anything, Miroku-sama."

"That's a completely separate matter," he assured innocently, "there is nothing broken between her and I, we made our decision—"

"Then, I made mine."

"But Inuyasha did not get the chance to make his," Miroku added.

"He has Tamako now, have you not seen the way those two act?" She tried her best to keep it from happening but her voice cracked all the same because of that she had to look away from Miroku's sure to be pity induced stare.

"I still think things can be mended between you two. I think that you and he belong together more so, do not get me wrong, I like Tamako-sama. She is a sweet girl, a dear friend, but… I think fate would rather you and Inuyasha be together."

"Why would you say that?" She snapped as she glared back at him, "what does _fate_ have to do with anything?"

"You crossed through time to be here, I believe that speaks volumes all on its own."

"That has nothing to do with it, if anything it's just another reason why him and I don't belong together, we aren't even from the same era," she grumbled.

"You are bound to Inuyasha, that is why you are here, that is why you continue to return to this time, don't you think that means something? That the well opens for you to be here, that only he can travel through it to your world? You two are _meant_ for one another."

"Miroku," she coaxed with a bitter sigh, "don't do anything, please? I feel like you and Sango are _meant_ to be together but I'm respectfully keeping my nose out of it, you do the same."

"But… that's different," he muttered.

"_How_ is it different?"

"It simply is, I believe Inuyasha still has feelings for you, too," he asserted and that, really, she could not argue with. He still kept her picture with him, she had to wonder if Tamako was aware of the fact—she highly doubted it, though. It was probably true that he had some lingering feelings left for her but those were surely overshadowed for whatever he felt for Tamako and… she earnestly had no intention of changing that.

"Miroku, why did you let Sango go?"

Her tone had altered from irritation to a curious hush, her hazels had softened on the plants before her, and a small frown had penetrated her pink lips. He had been bothering her about her relationship, it was the least he could do to tell her the truth. "If it were not for my wind tunnel, my cruse… I would not have. I would have fought for her, for her affections instead of allowing them to go to Rensei. I will most likely die, I have accepted that, but this way she will have someone else when that time comes… someone that she loves, someone that can comfort her if my death affects her."

"It will," Kagome sped, "it will, I know it will. She still has feelings for you, too, I just know it."

"It is a little selfish of me, I must admit, but I hope she does," he smiled before standing up, "it will be dawn soon, Inuyasha will be up and in a rush to get everything ready so we can leave, I am sure, we should prepare."

"Alright," she sighed with a small nod of her head before she gradually got to her feet as well, "don't do anything Miroku-sama, promise me."

"Why, Kagome-sama, I am insulted that you would think—"

"Miroku-sama," she dragged out flatly.

"I promise not to do anything I normally wouldn't," he guaranteed.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"I will be good, I assure you," somehow, his charming smile did the very opposite.

x-•°•°•-x

Midway through the day they had segregated into groups within their traveling pack, Miroku and Kagome in the back, Sango and Inuyasha in the middle, and Tamako in the lead since she was the one that actually knew the way. There had been quite a bit of conversation between them all and whatever resentment that was in the air that usually left Kagome out of it was gone while their old comrade traveled with them. She assumed that was because it seemed like old times, for the exclusion of Tamako being around. Yet, the conversation had died down as the sun rose higher in the sky and all became wary of their journey and were privately eager for a break.

Apparently, that made for the perfect point for Miroku to start something, "play along," he whispered to Kagome before his wandering, cursed, hand found its way from his side to her behind. Instantly, she froze up only to come to her senses a second later to slap her hand across his face.

"What are you doing!" Earned the entire group's attention.

"I cannot help myself," Miroku proclaimed apologetically as he rubbed his wounded cheek, "you have grown into such a lovely lady, Kagome-sama. Over your absent you have matured in a fine woman."

"That doesn't give you an excuse to grope me," she exclaimed while she clenched her fists.

Before he continued on his respectful rant he glanced over to his friend to make sure he had his golden gazed attention, which he did, completely. "You know, Kagome-sama, when this is all over you would make a wonderful mother for Michio. I would be honored if you would consider the proposal."

Her eyes widened as she gawked at the fully confident man beside him, swiftly her stare flickered about to everyone in the group until it locked onto the glaring hanyou. All the pieces fell into place as she relaxed; he was trying to incense Inuyasha. That was one of his weaknesses, _jealousy_; even if his feelings for her were mild at best he wouldn't like to hear that at all. She was almost certain that Miroku's sole goal was to try and coax a response out of Inuyasha, anything that would prove that there was still affection left in him for Kagome.

"Is that so?" She sighed as she shook her head, "stop acting funny, Miroku-sama."

"I would be completely fine if you simply called me 'Miroku' from now on," he assured. He particularly relished the look that his friend was giving him, one step further and Inuyasha might actually punch him. Though, he doubted he actually wanted that to happen.

It wasn't out of an need to spark envy from Inuyasha but the simple fact that she would honestly prefer to drop the suffixes all together, she had been absent from Japan and that system for long enough that she had to think about adding them to the end of names. "Okay, but then you'd have to call me just 'Kagome'."

"Agreed," and with that their scandalous conversation ceased and Tamako suggested a break under the shade of a few trees.

"You are an idiot, Miroku," Kagome whispered before they reached their destination.

"You know I was just—"

"Trying to meddle when you shouldn't," she grumbled, "I know but…" she just nodded towards Sango. Miroku raised a brow at that before he looked over to see the strange look she was giving them, it wasn't until then that realization struck him. His good cheer evaporated just like that, his goal had been to entice a response from Inuyasha… he hadn't thought that Sango would take it the wrong way, too.

"Sango," he meekly approached while the rest sat down for the much needed break from their long day's walk, "may I speak to you, in private?"

"Yes, Houshi-sama," she replied and allowed him to lead the way just inside the sheltered forest, "what is it?"

"Sango, about what I just said to Kagome—"

"Honestly, Houshi-sama, I do not care, please do not think that I will bear a grudge against you two. I think you would make a fine couple and if you want to be with her it is up to you. I will support both of you. Really," she insisted when she noticed he was about to try and break in, "I think it is rather perfect. Everyone could be with the one that they should, Tamako and Inuyasha, me and… Rensei."

"Is that true?" Miroku murmured as his brows flexed together and lips curled into a subtle frown, "would you really not care?"

She knew what he was implying, she could see it in the way he looked at her, for a moment she remained mute before she assured, faintly, "I am in love with Rensei."

He knew she did… he did, and he supported the two, honestly, but to hear it was like a knife through his heart all the same. Nevertheless, he felt the need to inform her of the truth, just in case there was still a part of her that harbored feelings for him. "Thank you, Sango… either way, though, I have no intention of such a relationship with Kagome. I only said those things to irk Inuyasha and prompt a response from him—"

"You shouldn't do that," she snapped, "did Kagome ask you to?"

"No, she told me not to, actually," he muttered.

"Then listen to her, Houshi-sama. After everything that we have all been through… just leave Tamako to Inuyasha. In the end, Kagome will most likely return to her world, do you really wish to put him through that again? Don't you remember how crushed he was last time?" Her stiff features gave way to a compassionate contour, "I could not bear to see him like that once more. Tamako makes him happy now, she has told me often that when Naraku is gone she has no intention of leaving Inuyasha's side, she truly adores him. Why would you try to ruin that? Kagome made her choice, she left. She left _without_ as much as a goodbye to any of us. Let Inuyasha have his happiness. Leave it be," was the last thing she requested, more like demanded, before she walked off once more.

Was that really all she meant to say to him…? He had hoped that she would have shown at least a _flicker_ of relief in hearing that he had no intention to be with another. His shouldered hung heavy as he sighed and returned to the others as well, had all the fondness truly faded?

x-•°•°•-x

As of late she had not been very good about practicing her archery skills so she took the time allotted for their break to wander a little way in the forest with her bow and barrel of arrows to perfect her aiming once more. Still, she was not back to the level she had been before she left. It was just so hard to switch from a more advanced bow back to something that was essentially just a bent piece of wood and a string—she knew it was more than that, it probably took great skill to craft a bow, but it was nothing like the ones she could buy in her era.

She had carved a target into a tree some distance away yet after three tries had failed to the hit the center spot. With a deep breath she pulled back her string once more and focused all the more on the dot ahead of her, with another she released the arrow only to cringe and retract her hand from the bow as the arrow struck right by the middle spot.

"Ouch," she muttered as she shook her hand that had been grazed by the staunch feathers, that was always the trouble with shooting a bow. It was like picking splinters out.

"You are doing well," a familiar voice encouraged. She jumped some and twisted around to see that Tamako had been watching her.

"If I may," Tamako requested as she picked up her bow and another arrow, "try that again, just don't release the arrow this time."

"Alright," Kagome mumbled as she did just that, she felt ever so odd as Tamako walked about her, analyzing her stance and adjusting her here and there.

"There, that should be better, try once more," Tamako asked and grudgingly Kagome turned her attention back to the target and focused once more before shooting the arrow at it. She couldn't help but get a little giddy when she saw that she had _finally_ struck the center. "Very well done, Kagome-san."

"Thank you for your help," she chimed in return.

Tamako nodded as her smile slowly faded into a meek one at best, "Kagome-san… I… I know of your past relationship with Inuyasha. I know how close you two were… I know that you cared a great deal about each other."

She had expected this conversation to have come sooner, if it was going to happen at all, so she respectfully lowered both her bow and gaze, what was she to say to that?

"I would just… really like to know if you plan to try and rekindle that," Tamako modestly inquired, "you must know that I feel very strongly towards him. I respect you, Kagome-san, you are Kikyou's reincarnation, you helped everyone a great deal at the start of the jewel hunt, you have grave powers, I would just like the to be shown the same respect. If you wish to attempt to earn your place in Inuyasha's heart once more, please tell me now. I do not wish to be taken by surprise later, I would like to prepare myself for the possibility of losing him…"

Her eyes shot up to the timid, evasive, gaze that Tamako held. That was more than sensible, _more_ than reasonable, there was no aggression in her voice—if anything, there was a pinch of pain. She just wanted to know, and didn't she have every right to? Hadn't she been the one by his side all this time?

"Tamako-san, I respect you, too, and… and I have no intention of restoring our former relationship. Whatever feelings we once shared… I don't think they can compare to the way he feels for you. I honestly don't want to get in the way," though, it hurt her to say so, she couldn't hide that in her voice nor in her hazels, but it was the truth.

She could not, would not, win Inuyasha's heart back only to break it all over again.

"Thank you for your honesty, Kagome-san," Tamako bowed her head before she turned to go back to where all the others rested. She did not get far before she paused to say, "he… he missed you a great deal. I know that he does not act like it but I think he is pleased you are back, I don't know if that helps at all."

"Thank you," she whispered back as the priestess faded away. It took all the strength she had at that moment not to let the tinge in her eyes spark any tears.

x-•°•°•-x

"This seems eerie," Tamako observed as she took a step closer to the hanyou by her side, "but this is where my sensei said the spring would be."

They had to enter an abnormally luscious yet gloomy forest and head all the way to the center, turning here and there at certain landmarks as Tamako had been instructed. There was a low mist that hovered above the ground all around, vines that hung from the tree and an odd blue tint to everything around them.

"It's so strange there has to be something here," Sango rationalized as her mahoganies moved over the scenery, "it is sort of pretty, surreal, peaceful…"

"It's very quiet," Kagome mumbled, nothing good ever came from such an uncanny silence.

"Who goes there?" A feminine voice echoed about them, swiftly they all backed into a circle and out of reflex reached for the weapons.

"We are here for the Shinsei Spring," Tamako announced, "we were told that this is where it is located. We have a friend who has been cursed and is in desperate need for its curing powers."

"Is that so?" The voice inquired, the echo did not follow that time so they could all turn to see the little, old lady with quite the intimidating expression, "it is hard for people to find their way here because you were able to I will allow you to use the spring." Her old, gray, hazy eyes wandered over each of the members, lingering more so on Kagome and Miroku than the rest, "who is this 'friend'?"

"I am," Miroku announced as he stepped towards her, "my hand has been cursed for generations now."

"This way, everyone follow me," she ordered with a nod of her head before she turned and maneuvered over large roots to a secluded temple, a small bit of water was visible from behind it.

"Why's there an old lady here?" Inuyasha muttered to which Tamako only shrugged her shoulders.

"I have been the guardian of this spring for well over two hundred years now, hanyou," the woman replied sharply.

"Keh, whatever, you smell like a human," he scoffed back.

"It is thanks to the spring that I have lived for such a long time," she explained, "be respectful, hanyou, or I will expel you from here."

"I'd like to see you try," he ridiculed.

"I'm so sorry, he's just rude," Tamako apologized as she smacked him upside his head, "please forgive him."

"You may go inside my home," the woman allowed with a tilt of her head, "there is some tea. Cursed man, come with me, I will show you the proper way of cleansing yourself within the spring."

"Thank you," Miroku bowed his head slightly as he followed her behind the temple while the rest entered the well kept temple to find that tea they were promised.

"I hope that this works," Sango simply vocalized what they all had been thinking.

"Just have faith that it will," Tamako requested. "I do."

"I hope it does," Inuyasha assured, "or else all this would have been a waste of time."

"Girl," the old woman's raspy voice caught all of them by surprise. "Come with me," she ordered as she pointed to Kagome and then curled her index finger a few times, "I would like to speak to you privately."

"Okay," she mumbled as she got to her feet, her eyes met with each of her cautious companions before she exited out the back with the woman. There was a steaming hot spring in the back, divided in half by a high wooden fence. "The spring is a hot spring?"

"Yes, it's a common misconception," the woman retorted before she stopped right at the edge of the rocky ground around it, "please take off your clothes."

"What? Why?" Kagome countered quickly.

"I have a keen ability to tell when one is on the brink of death, those who come here often always are. The monk is obviously cursed, his is visible with that tunnel in his right hand, but you, too, are cursed. Am I wrong?" The awestruck look that she got in return confirmed her suspicion, "you have made it here, as well, why not try to use the spring to cure yours?"

"Will it… really work?" She muttered as her hand clenched the shikon shards she wore around her neck.

"You use those to slow the progression of what ails you," the old keeper mused, "it is a wise idea, I am sure it works well, better than nothing, don't they?"

"Yes," she replied softly as her hazels darted to the ground, "how can you tell all this?"

"I have seen many cursed souls come here, now, please, remove your clothes and enter the water gradually. It takes time to adjust to the heat. Your friends do not know of your curse, I presume?" To that, she simply nodded as she slowly started to discard her boots, jeans, and jacket. "I will respect your wish of keeping this private; if they ask where you have gone to I will tell them I had you help me collect a few herbs. I assume they would believe that, I can tell you have considerable spiritual powers that help to stage off the curse some, too."

"Thank you," she mumbled before she followed the instructions and little by little entered the hot water until she was able to sit down, she had pulled her hair up in a high ponytail to make sure it would not get wet so the others would not notice she had been in the water. It felt even more soothing than the usual hot spring and she found it easy to relax against the wall of it and shut her eyes. The steam was like aromatherapy, the water like a gentle message against her body, and the heat ever so comforting.

Her curse… the true reason she could never be close to Inuyasha again, why she would openly allow Tamako the pleasure of being by his side. Just like Miroku, she wanted someone to be there for Inuyasha if she were to pass while she was in the feudal era. Though, she had every intention of winning the battle against Naraku and then returning to hers before the curse took its full affect on her body but… even the best laid plans often failed. She reluctantly opened her eyes to reach out and take the rose, ruby ring that she _always_ wore and examine it.

"I suppose… if I'm lucky, I'll see you soon," she muttered to no one. It was a while longer before the old woman returned to beacon her out of the water and hand her a towel so she could dry herself before she put her clothes back on.

"I am sorry," was never a good way to start a sentence, so she braced herself for whatever was to come. "The demonic nature of your curse… it is different than any in which I have encountered. It is as if there is this… this festering black haze building around your chest, it feels like no other curse I have ever stumbled upon… the spring did not help you, but I can tell that the jewel shards are at least fighting it off to give you more time. Though… in the process the shards are slowly becoming tainted, too."

"Yes, I know," she whispered as she lifted her hands to cup the shikon shards once more, _that's the real reason I won't let Inuyasha take them from me… maybe that's wrong but…_

"Your friends are waiting for you," snapped her out of her lamenting thoughts and with a sigh she was able to recompose herself before entering the temple once more.

x-•°•°•-x

"Oh, Miroku-sama, that is wonderful news," Tamako gleeful clapped.

"Did it work?" Kagome quickly questioned, the good joy that emanated from the group gave her hope that it did.

"Not completely," he replied as he turned his attention to her, "it's not gone but it has reverted back considerably. I believe it is at the same level it was when I first met you and Inuyasha."

"That must mean you have a lot more time now," Sango smiled which earned Miroku's full attention, of course. "I am glad to hear that, Houshi-sama."

"It's a good thing this wasn't all a waste of time," which was, they all knew, Inuyasha's way of expressing his happiness over the matter.

"I was thinking while I was in the spring," Miroku began cautiously, "that if it worked… that I would travel with all of you once more."

"What about your son?" Kagome inquired, "do you really think that is for the best?"

"It is my responsibility to protect him and the best way to do that is to get rid of this curse once and for all, to make sure that he does not have to grow up with it, that his family will not be burdened with it, either. This _needs_ to end," he emphasized.

"Are you sure…?" She kept up warily, "it is up to you, of course, Miroku but… it would be hard for him to grow up without a father, too."

To that he weakly smiled, "I hope that not to be the case but…"

"This is great," Inuyasha interrupted with an odd amount of excitement which won everyone's sole attention, "that means we'll have another good fighter on our side! The more help the better, I'm sure we'll finally kill Naraku if you come traveling with us again."

"And, as awful as it sounds," Tamako added, "it has always been of great assistance how your acquire inn rooms for us. We have been staying in forest a great deal more since you have left."

"Oh, you needn't worry about that, I will be sure to fix that," Miroku promised, "can we return to Mushin's? I would like to tell him and Hachi my plan and… say goodbye to Michio."

"Of course," Sango assured.

"Then we really have to go after Naraku," Inuyasha pressured, "I'm sick of all this delaying."

"Yes, yes, Inuyasha," Tamako sighed.

"Shut up, Tamako," he grunted only to earn a gasp from her, "sorry…"

Though, she was not sure if it was the best of ideas to have Miroku part ways with his infant son… she couldn't lie, she was glad to have his company back.

**{~**¤°•.¤°•.¤°•.¤°•.¤°•.**~}**

_The atmosphere about the Bone Eater's Well became bleak as the sky grew gray with thick, all-consuming, clouds that blocked out any chance of rays shinning down on the vine covered passage. Gradually, the greenery that sprouted on and about it wrinkled and dried up to flake away as the well shook more and more until a large, black, blur of smoke shot out of the channel between eras to flitter into the clouds and make them all the darker._

* * *

**Globe Amaranth**: Unchangeable


	8. Tuberose

-•°•°•-  
†**{ A** **R**_ose_ by **A**_ny_ **O**_ther _**N**_ame_…** }**†**  
x{ **_0_**8: T**_uberose_** }x  
**-•°•°•-

* * *

A few days had floated by; time really seemed to be filled with some joy for the first occasion in too long for the broken maiden from another life, another world, another era. And what, pray tell, brought this change about? That answer was simple, clear, a gift in and of itself. It was all thanks to a not-so-perverse-anymore monk and father, Miroku. The monk that needed to hire a women to tend to his son while he was away, he couldn't trust Hachi or Munshin for that long. The red-headed priestess and former-school-girl convinced the little kitsune to stay behind and protect the precious child—knowing all the while they were guaranteeing the top-spinner safety as well. He was her solace, her friend, the one she could talk about everything to—well; expect for the things that she couldn't, that is.

Perhaps better yet, perhaps just the same, he was ever so helpful, too. In their couple of sun cycles of traveling they had come across a fine, small, quaint village that had itself a bit of a demon problem. That was cured by a large boomerang made of bone and a fang turned into a sword in mere minutes which turned into a huge celebration thanks to the added efforts of a certain lying monk performing a so-called exorcism of the only inn in the entire place. It was always thanks to his debonair smile and charming talk, too.

None of them would contradict him, though they all knew what fraud he was, they simply sat back and allowed him to do his chants and such then talk up the demon that they clearly slayed for the village's sake.

What was their reward? A large party was thrown for them, the best food available at the time was cooked for that—_that_ was truly what all were thankful for. The best sake in the town, of course, was shared with the saviors as well. The pious priestess passed, the hanyou followed suit, the slayer only had a bit, the monk had a cup or two, and the broken girl? Wouldn't it be less than shocking to learn she had a bottle or two all to herself?

That marred mind of hers thought it was a good idea, though the profound amount of alcohol consumption was out of character for her but… it cured that pain that plagued her, not physical, not truly there, but it felt like it was. A knife, no, a set of needles pricking at her heart from all angles that chose to dig deeper and deeper with each passing day, moment, hour, minute, second…

Those memories best left forgotten of a happier time—there are so many, so many times to think of, so many people, so much lost… and it all faded away with each shot of sake, with each drunken slur to the boys that grew handsomer with each sip. The boys that were ever so enchanted with her attention, with the sole task of entertaining the exotic beauty, moreover, the boys that each wished to bed with her that night, but, really, who could blame them?

From the few occasions before where she had consumed as much, well, never _that_ much but close, she had learned a few things about herself—promiscuous girl she was with the aid of inhibitors to stop that barrier that flittered out the ridiculously stupid thoughts from the good. With each warm sensation of the liquid down her throat that thing that once disabled dirty deeds cracked more and more.

So, when one offered the gorgeous girl a wonderful experience one that would make _all her troubles_ fade away in a whisper upon her ears she giggled and agreed. What could go wrong? She wanted _all_ her troubles, all her agony, all her everything to go away and if that boy could make it so, who was she to say no?

It was beyond her, really, why snickers, laughs and all kept flowing from her mouth as she took his hand and stumbled her way out of the large gathering hall where all were enjoying themselves and out into the street but it seemed right. _When_ was the last time she could honestly say she laughed? That there was no pain?

Though, the pain was there, it would always be, for a bit it could be forgotten—ignored, replaced—but only for a while, only to add on to the list of regrets.

Oh and how she'd regret it when she awoke the next day beside a boy she did not know, one that would probably be considerably less attractive when sobriety slammed itself upon her unkindly.

Such would never be, though, since a hand grasped her free one and yanked her away from the boy that was eagerly leading her off to his home, assuring her the most extraordinary of experiences.

"Hey!" Kagome chimed when her hazels shifted up to her violet eyed savior.

"Now, young man," said savor began as he stabilized the almost falling drunk damsel with both his hands upon her shoulder, "you wouldn't be trying to take advantage of my companion, now would you? It would be quite inappropriate of you, considering all she has done to aid your village. How about I assume the best? That you were simply helping her find her way up to the inn like a good gentleman?"

"Y… yeah, that's it," he stumbled about on his words, was it the fact that a monk had caught him in his naughtiness? No, it was more to do with the hellish glare he was receiving as he scurried off proclaiming his innocence on the way.

"Kagome," Miroku sighed as he began to lead her up the hill to the inn, "what were you thinking? That man was not trying to help you, you do know that?"

"Whatever," she laughed before flinging an arm around his neck, "extraordinary pleasures, blahed, blah, blah, and pain going away, he promised, it all sounded _gooood_ to me."

"Oh my," he puffed again as he grasped her hand and waist, "I noticed you drinking quite a bit… and all your mingling with the local boys, what is wrong with you?"

"That list is _so_ long," she slurred as she kicked her legs up an unnecessary amount while they walked.

"I wouldn't expect this type of behavior from you," he scolded as he gradually shifted her from her standing position to sit upon the porch outside their generously free room.

"Psh," she waved off as she swayed, "you sound like my father."

"You are going to regret this tomorrow," he murmured as he sat down upon the steps.

"Add that to the majorly _loooong_ list, too," she jeered as she fell back to lie down, which Miroku allowed with only a dull stare.

"Are you alright?" He inquired when he heard the louder than it should be thud that came along with her back colliding with the wood.

"No," she muttered.

Rather void of concern—she shouldn't have drank so much, all misfortune that followed were her mistake to endure—he questioned, "hurt yourself, did you?"

"I'm never OK… never… fucking ever…"

That did, however, win his actual attention as he shifted up a stair to be able to rest his palm next to her and look at the suddenly cheerless girl, "what's wrong, Kagome?"

"Everything," she sniffled as she shut her eyes and covered her face with her slim and fair hands.

"Kagome," he mumbled as he leaned closer to her, "don't do this to yourself, everything will find a way to work itself out."

"How?" She gripped behind her hands.

"It just will, please, I can't stand to see you cry," drunk or not but he wouldn't get his way, tears started to stream out uncontrollably as her body shock with each sob. There was little more he could do than rise up to sit back down right next to her and try and soothe her as best he could, "Inuyasha still loves you. I can tell."

"I don't want him to!" She coarsely countered as she planted her hands down to sit up abruptly, "I don't care! I don't want him!"

"Kagome," Miroku gently coaxed as he lifted his cursed hand up to brush her still flowing tears away, "then tell me, what do you want?"

"Lots of things," she muttered.

"Name one."

"Damian… I want Damian," she mumbled as she grasped her hands together so that her fingers could outline her most precious ring before she raised her knees up to rest her forehead against it. Of course, Miroku hadn't the faintest clue what that meant—was it a what or a who? Before he had the chance to even ask that he caught the passed out Kagome before she could topple over upon the harden floor.

"I don't know what to do you with sometimes," Miroku sighed as he lifted her into his arms to take her into the room, "you are a true mystery, young lady."

x-•°•°•-x

Oh, lordy, did she ever lament her choice of mass consumption the moment her eyes unsealed from the sleep that had rusted over them to the feeling of her throbbing head and unstable stomach. Inuyasha's loud 'time to go' didn't help the situation, nor the brightness of the day, nor the loud trek ahead of them, none of it did… oh, she felt like hell as she barely managed to keep up with the group that day.

"Idiot," was muttered by an unhappy hanyou a few times while Sango just gave a look of disapproval every now and then.

"Let's take a rest," Miroku suggested, which Kagome was much obliged about once they found a small grove of trees that would proved a fine amount of shade.

"We just started," Inuyasha scowled.

"No, I think he's right," Tamako countered, "we've been at it for a while, I could use a break, how about you, Sango?"

"I could."

"See, Inuyasha, all us humans need to rest," Tamako smiled as she patted his shoulder and headed over to the trees, he didn't even bother to argue though his glare did shift to the hung-over girl to blame silently.

"Never mind him," Miroku whispered as he placed a hand on the small of his back to lead her a short distance away from the others, deeper into the grand grove.

"I always do," she muttered back as they sat down, "I shouldn't have drunk so much…"

"You should have had breakfast, too," Miroku added once he rested his back upon a tree.

"I would have thrown up again if I did," she grumbled before she did a rather thoughtless thing, she leaned over to rest her head in his lap and shut her eyes. It was probably odd, he did tense up, but that barrier that separated the 'no-no's from the 'okay's actions had yet to erratic itself fully once more, so the not-so-grand thoughts still passed through the rather large cracks.

It was only Miroku after all…

Being the gentlemanly fellow he was, he allowed her a much needed nap without interference, at least, any from him. It couldn't be helped when the group decided that after a while they should locate the two, he was half dozed off himself when he heard the crackle of footsteps—a pair more than there should be, at that.

"There you are," Tamako chimed, instantly her smile faltered for a moment upon the sight before them, her eyes widened just as the others did.

"I suppose we should get going?" Miroku assumed as he glanced about the stunned faces until the added one was taken in. The striking, lean, slayer, Rensei, was staring just as dumbfounded at the sight while the monk gently nudged Kagome awake. Groggily, she pushed herself up and rubbed her eyes before looking to Miroku then following his stare to the group.

"I see," Rensei murmured before he slapped his hands together with a fine grin upon his broad lips, "you two are together? What a handsome pair you make."

"What?" Kagome yawned.

"We're not," Miroku assured.

"Right," Rensei winked, "of course not."

"Rensei, Kohaku and the others found their way here," Sango declared, "we've decided to just relax here the rest of the day, there is even a spring nearby, we'll part ways tomorrow and head on out with our journey then."

"Sounds good," and, really, it sounded more than just good to Kagome, a long walk with a throbbing hangover was not a pleasant experience—though, it did make certain other prickling pains vanish for the time being.

"We'll leave you two alone, then," Tamako said with reddened cheeks as she pried the still baffled hanyou away, Sango and Rensei upon their tail.

"We'd make an attractive couple, apparently," Kagome mocked as she gradually got to her feet, "how wonderful, huh?"

"But of course," Miroku added with a grin as he, too, stood up, "with my wit and your looks? How could we not?"

"He thought himself so clever for figuring that out, didn't he?" She muttered as she placed her hands upon her hips, "what a moron. I don't like him at all, particularly for Sango."

"You have your prejudice and I thank you for them," Miroku assured, "but they are unneeded, he's a bit of a fool but he cares for Sango and she… loves him."

"Love," she gripped while she walked about a bit, "lot a good that does people. Do you know what _I_ think?"

"Do tell," Miroku insisted with a smile as he rested upon a tree to walk her aimlessly strut about.

"There's absolutely nothing wrong with being single, right?"

"I agree."

"Some people stay that way throughout their lives, some people _die_ like that, so what's wrong with it? Why do people always think you need to be paired up with another? Some people are just meant to be alone and there is not a damn thing wrong with that," she stated firmly. "Personally, I have no desire to ever be with anyone again. And do you know what?" She redundantly rejoined as she turned to look at the amused monk, "I'm perfectly fine with that. So why can't everyone else?"

"Oh, certainly, perfectly fine," Miroku mocked, "and that's why your tone is so boorish."

"I'm only mad because people are stupid, like Rensei," she waved her hand in the direction in which their comrades had left, "why must I be with someone? Why does everyone automatically assume that's the way things are supposed to be? I'm sick of _that_. I'm not saying I don't want friends; I don't want to be around people… I just don't know want to be _with_ someone either. Do you have any idea the amount of drama that is lost when you aren't? All the pain that is forgone?"

"All the joy?" He countered, "since when did you become such a cynic?"

"I'm not a cynic, I'm a realistic, happy-ever-afters_ don't_ exist. People fall in love, I believe that," she nodded, "but people always fall out of it. People cope with those they chose to stay with for all their lives because they are lazy and don't want to bother with dating anymore so they settle and learn to deal with annoyances."

"Is that so?"

"That's so," she asserted.

"I doubt I could convince you otherwise then, if your mind is so firmly set," he shrugged, "what happened to the idealistic sweetheart I once knew?"

"I've changed, I suppose," she grunted, "there is nothing wrong with changing, it's the way people are… no one stays the same forever."

"What happened?" Miroku sighed as she looked over the pacing beauty before him, "something obviously un-pleasant… while you were away."

"Lots of things happened, lots of things good and lots bad," she shrugged as she spun around to lock eyes with him, "I was an adolescent when I was here, it's only natural that over all the years I was away that I would change my ideals, my behavior, when new evidence arises why not?"

"And, my dear, what is that 'new evidence?"

"That," she dragged out as she stepped forward until she was right in front of him, "people aren't good by nature. That humans… destroy things, that perhaps they do more harm to each other than good."

"That's a dark outlook," he whispered back.

"You and I, Miroku, are from different worlds," she hummed before twirling around and walking away, effectively ending their conversation.

x-•°•°•-x

It was the greatest of fun that the two groups decided once more to team up instead of part ways like a certain former-priestess-to-be would have hoped. Did she mind Kohaku's presence? Not at all, he was a sweet boy. Takashi, Nagasai or Muro? No, not really, together the three could be grading on her nerves but she could take it, she was a patient soul—sort of. Rensei? The way he didn't hide his doting over Sango? Yes, that would be it. It wasn't that he obviously thought the world of her not-so-much-friend or that she seemed to enjoy it just... that she stood a few feet behind them with the only one she still considered a true friend by her side who was also witnessing the same sight.

A sight that probably stung, even though he'd never show it. His voice never faltered when he spoke to her, a cringe never coursed through him, nothing... if she didn't know better she'd think he didn't mind. But she _did_ know better, he minded, a great deal. He took the high road like she never could, could she have given Inuyasha away to Kikyou if she had thought it was in his best interest? No. She would have fought for his affections. Would she, without her current outstanding circumstances, have willingly let go even though she was _certain_ Tamako was better for him? No. Did that make her selfish? Maybe, probably, but did it matter?

No, really, what did anymore? Whatever meaning life once had faded from her grasp weeks ago, now all she knew was she had to help destroy a monster she let survive all these years then there was nothing more to live for, not that she really had the chance to. It was easier to let go of what no longer mattered though.

"I think we need to find a place to stop at," Rensei declared loud enough that even those in the far front of the pack would hear.

"It's going to storm," Inuyasha confirmed, one didn't need super-human-senses to be able to figure that out, though. All it took was one to look up to the sky to see the gray, ominous sky.

As luck would have it, they found a village soon enough and Miroku conveniently discovered a terrible omen upon the inn which he could perform an exorcism for the small fee of two rooms and enough food for all of them. The poor elder inn keeper was more than willing to offer them that and more, a third room for the girls since he'd hate to harm their honor by forcing them to stay in a room with all those men.

"I don't think I want to be stuck in a room alone with Sango and Tamako," Kagome confessed to Miroku as they stood upon the sheltered porch some distances away from their three linked rooms, the rain had just begun along with a symphony of flashing lights and thunderous crackles.

"Why is that?"

"Tamako... may or may not like me," either way, she didn't care, "and Sango certainly dislikes me. I get that leaving without saying goodbye is not a good thing... I get that's a no-no, I get a bit of scolding but seriously, what the hell? What I did to her was no worse than what I did to you, Shippou, or Inuyasha and all of you have been kinder to me than her. I really don't get it."

"I'm not sure what it is," he told her the exact opposite of what she would have hoped, and he knew it so he had to add a sympathetic smile as another flash flickered through the sky immediately followed by a terrible bang. "I think we should go inside, the storm is only going to get worse."

"We are near the sea," Kagome mused as she followed him down the wooden path, "and it's typhoon season. I bet that's what it is. I hope this inn holds up... the wind's getting pretty bad."

"All will be fine," Miroku assured as he opened the door to her, "just try and get some rest."

"How can any of us with all this noise?" She pouted as she reluctantly stepped into the room that was designated the girls.

"Well, if one is tired enough," Miroku shrugged, "good night, Kagome."

"Good night, Miroku."

"Good night, Tamako-sama and Sango," Miroku also added before he shut the door to head to the room to their right where he, Inuyasha and Kohaku would share a room.

"Good night, Miroku-sama," Tamako chimed as he situated herself on her futon while Sango replied, "good night, Houshi-sama."

"Rensei was right," Tamako cheerfully declared as she lied down, "you and Miroku-sama make a fine pair."

"We aren't," Kagome muttered back as she rolled out her futon and took off her boots, her hazels couldn't help but wander to the slayer whose stare flickered to her every once and a while. "Sango, seriously, we aren't."

"Kagome," Sango rejoined, "it's fine if you are, I already told Houshi-sama that I would support you two in your decision. You two would, if you were willing to raise Michio, that is."

"You would have the cutest children, too," Tamako couldn't help but whisper loud enough for the both to hear.

"She's right," Sango smiled.

That smile was what kept her silent, that smile gave her an unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach, that smile... was there nothing left? Did she not love Miroku even a little? Barely anything else was said as the three prepared for bed, a good night was once more chimed around before the candle was blown out so that there was only light whenever a bolt flickered through the sky. She doubted any would sleep for some time, though, since the wind howled cruelly as it battered against the walls and ceiling while the sound of the rain slamming down on the roof created an unpleasant soundtrack. At that moment, she was truly thankful that they had found somewhere to sleep that was not the woods.

Timed floated on and the sound of steady breathes arose from her comrades, somehow they must have managed to actually fall asleep and perhaps she would have too if not for the horrid images that appeared each time she shut her heavy lids.

Then there was that sensation that struck her, that far too familiar yet impossible one that shivered through her spine. The one that made her eyes shot all the way open and body slowly sit up to look around the dark room. She was hallucinating... it wasn't possible. But the longer she sat there the more certain she was that what she felt in the core of her being was true. With an unsteady breath she pushed the covers off from her and slid on her boots, she hated to do it but she opened the door to let in the rush of wind and pellets of rain only momentarily before she jumped out and yanked the door closed once more. Somehow, she really doubted both the girls had slept through that interruption.

That was when her sprint began, the flee that she felt was for her life or, more importantly, those she still cared for around her, those that still had a chance to live out the rest of the year.

Each rain drop blew in the ferocious wind to feel like a bullet struck her as she ran aimlessly out of the village and towards the woods for some sort of shelter from the storm, she tripped and slipped and felt mud gather on her jeans and hands as she continued on but she would not stop. Not as long as that god-awful presence was close, the one she knew... yet didn't. It was new yet the same.

It couldn't be true, it couldn't, she kept telling her frenzied mind as she entered deeper and deeper into the forest until a hut caught her eye. It. Could. Not. Be. True. That was that, she was hallucinating, she might have half-fallen asleep and thought she felt what she did... but then why did she still feel that way? With effort she managed to get the door open and shut behind her, it was clear someone lived in the hut but was not there at the moment and probably wouldn't return until the storm was over. Her clothes were soaked, she hadn't thought to grasp her leather jacket so she was freezing from the water and wind, shivers from it and sniffles came as she tried to start a fire, tried to ignore the ominous aura that ventured closer and closer to her.

It could not be... but if it were, she couldn't out run it. Never, not if it could follow her through time.

The fire didn't start before the crackle of the wooden walls of the hut froze her in her spot, she slowly shut her eyes and held her breath as if that would make her disappear as the dark, abstract fog floated through the spaces in the wall to surround her.

Was that how it was meant to end for her?

x-•°•°•-x

"Only that girl would so something so stupid," Inuyasha scowled with stiffly folded arms upon his chest, "where the hell did she go?"

"I have no idea," Tamako whispered, "but I thought that it wasn't good... shouldn't someone go get her? The storm is only getting worse."

"I can't imagine what she thought she was doing," the only slayer present sighed.

"Perhaps it was something of vital importance," Miroku defended as he rose to his feet, "if no one else is going to find her then I will."

"Houshi-sama," Sango countered, "the storm is too fierce, perhaps you should wait a while to see if it will die down."

"Kagome is out there now," he replied, "I can't just ideally sit by-"

"Shut up," Inuyasha grunted as he got to his feet, "you're just a human, you'll probably get blown away, I'll do it."

"Inuyasha," Tamako coaxed, "the storm is still really bad... I don't know how comfortable I am at the thought of even you going out in it."

"Keh, I'll be fine," he assured, "I'll just get a little wet, it won't be a big deal. I'll kick Kagome's sorry ass the second I find it, though. She better have a damn good reason for all this."

"I still think-" Miroku started only to be interrupted by irked Inuyasha.

"You ain't coming, you'd slow me down, so just stay," he ordered.

"And how will you find her? Huh?" The monk countered, "the rain impairs your sense of smell, you could easily get lost yourself."

"As if," he snickered, "I'm going. Don't worry about me, Tamako."

"How can I not?" she frowned as she watched him exit the inn.

The storm beat him as he sped forward, a leap meant he would meet with harder pellets of water. Where had she gone? That stupid, stupid girl. She better have an amazing explanation or else he'd give her hell. She was nowhere in the village so he headed towards the forest, where someone might hide from the rain. The deeper he went the harder it was to go on against the pounding wind, he _hated_ to get so wet and now every part of him was beyond dripping, all his clothes were soaked.

That was when he finally chanced upon the hut that was lit from inside, perhaps she was there? It took him less effort to open the door than a mortal and shut it the same, the wind howled against the hut but it would most likely stand sturdy through the storm. A humming maiden sat a burning fire, the proper damsel at that. Hence the growl, "damn it, what the fuck were you thinking?"

"Me?" She cooed as she turned her head to smirk up at the heated, drenched, hanyou.

"Don't play stupid with me, you bitch," he scowled as he stepped forward while she gradually got to her feet to slowly strut up to him, the oddest grin upon her lips as her flirting eyes fluttered about his façade, "what's wrong with you? Leaving like you did? What the _hell?"_

"What the _hell_," she slowly said with ample space between her words, a special emphasize was added to the final one. "More like, where from hell."

"What?" He grunted with an arched brow, "you annoying little—"

"Sh," she whispered as she pressed a slender finger to his lips, "I have the feeling that you think you are talking to someone who is no longer in here."

"What?" he gripped again as he knocked her hand away, "did you hit your head?"

"It's not mine to hit," she countered with a playful pout and a step back. His confused stare shifted about her for some time before the realization seemed to hit in, "do you finally get it, thing?"

"Kagome…?" He murmured as his hand automatically ventured to his sword and golden gaze narrowed upon her.

"No," she softly spoke, "but good guess, I'll give you another try."

"Demon," he snarled as his grip upon his sword tightened, "what do you want? The shards?"

"The shards?" She hummed as her fingers slipped up her bare arms to her white tank and then to the pink jewel fragments that hung on a golden chain, "these? I've heard of this thing, the shikon jewel, right?" She laughed with her lips sealed in a smirk, "do you want to know, thing, what true demons think of you? Of those who are after this little object?"

"Save your breath, I've heard all the shit possible for being a hanyou," he grunted, "now get out Kagome."

"Darling, that was not what I was getting at, not at all. You are a hanyou, but half human and half… what? You pathetic things that temporarily linger up in this world with the mortals, that are just _barely_ stronger than the humans that you mingle with? Would you like in a secret?" her lull of a voice inquired as she took a step closer to him once more, one large enough so that there was barely enough space for the wind the crept into the cabin to flow between them. "You aren't half demon," she shook her head slowly with a fixated gaze upon his face, "you are half something below us. Mortal, you know that, right? All of you are _mortals_. Would you like to know definition of _immortals_? Those who do not die, ever, and guess what? I don't ever die. _Ever_."

"I've never someone that can't die," he retorted.

"There's a first for everything," she whispered, "I'll let you in on another secret. In about, hm," she tilted her head side to side, "a few hundred years we'll rise up, the _real_ demons, and out of spite we'll kill you all. I can shift through sweet Kagome's memories, I know you've been to her time, haven't you ever wondered what happened to all your kind? My kind, the real, true, demons arose from the deepest pits of hell finally—we broke _out_," she emphasized as her vixen demeanor glowed a bit more, along with the crazy glimmer in her hazels.

"You demons got in our way, you thought you were better than us but you weren't, you're all pathetic, weak, disgusting," she shook her head before tapping the jewel shards around her neck, "so _pathetic _that instead of growing your _own_ power, like a _true_ demon would, you all go for a short cut and use this thing. True strength comes from suffering, and there is no greater suffering then the flames of hell, so it was easy to kill you creatures that lost your spunk, well, that is, if you ever had any."

"You're bigger bitch than Kagome," Inuyasha grunted back.

"So enlightening, I just told your future and you curse, see, you creatures are so coarse, crude," she whispered with a wink.

"Get out of Kagome," he ordered.

"Make me," she grinned, "_you_ don't know how to. See, I'm nothing like your kind, the spells and the material you'd need to get me out doesn't even exist here in Japan at this time. I can stay in this body as long as I want, and," she took a deep breath in as she let her hands wander down her body, "I want to stay. She has a pretty body, doesn't she? So slim, so fit, so perky, so young, so… so much fun could be had with it. Men must fall all over her, and I do so enjoy screwing around with human males. Sex is something that us demons don't have," she leaned closer, their lips were but fraction apart, "and I found, most have, that we so do enjoy it. The good sensations are _intensified_ for us, while the bad ones are dulled. And I'm so good… her body is so flexible, would you like to take it for a ride?"

"Stop saying stupid shit," Inuyasha stuttered as he stumbled back, "get out!"

"Say that all you want but I won't," she assured as she followed him until he grasped her arms and turned her around to push her against the wall.

"Get _out_," he growled.

"Oh," she giggled, "so aggressive, I like, I like that _a lot_. I'm sadistic like that, S&M hasn't started yet, I don't think, but it's _so_, uh," she cringed with pleasure, "much fun. I like that pain and pleasure… oh, and I think you'd enjoy the pleasure. I can see it, in your pretty golden eyes, deep down… there's that monster, the blood thirsty creature that's akin to me in a very, very mild fashion. Why not allow him to come out and play? Him and I would have fun, two possessors playing with our toys."

"Shut up," he growled as he gripped her arms tighter, "you said you're from Kagome's time? How'd you get here? What are you doing here?"

"I know," she leaned closer to him to speak against his lips, "that you want this body so badly. Guess what? Kagome wouldn't mind at all."

He was flustered for a moment before he found words, "knock it off."

"You want me to do what with your what?" She taunted.

"I didn't say that!"

"Kagome is not as sweet and innocent as all presume her to be."

"I never said Kagome's sweet," he grunted.

"I can shift through all of Kagome's memories," she coaxed, "do you want to hear about some of the things I've seen. Some are oh-so-_naughty_."

"Stop talking already," he grunted. That was when what he didn't think would really happen occurred—she closed the small gap between their lips. His eyes widened before his senses came back to him and pulled away to cover his mouth and glare, "bitch, stop that!"

"You are rejecting me? Or her?" She inquired as she stepped closer and closer to him, each time he took one backwards. What the hell was he doing? That wasn't like him, he was the aggressor not the coward trying to get away and he'd prove it, too. He grabbed her wrists, which she obviously allowed, and kicked her feet out from below her so he could pin her to the ground, this time taking care to avoid closer face-proximity.

"Ow," she joked.

"Get the fuck out of Kagome _now_," he ordered.

"You seem to care so much," she pouted as she tilted her head to the side, "if you really do, then you'd rather I stay. I can keep this body alive longer than it ought to be, you see, she will be dead soon if you make me leave it. That's the great thing about us possessing humans, all their defects disappear with our power."

"You're lying," he growled, "you are just trying to trick me."

"Am I?" She whispered as she wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him down, "you didn't think to pin those down, did you? Because you know you want this, this body, all it's curves, the sweet nectar that's ripe for the taking below… oh, the fun we could have."

"That's not happening," he stated stiffly, "you aren't Kagome, you haven't a right to give away her body."

"She. Would. Not. Care." She assured, "she's thought about it, oh… has she ever thought about it. All the fun ways we could do it, I get the feeling you have a dominating personality, so, _darling_, dominate me."

Was there something wrong with him when he faltered from that? That he tensed up, _every_ bit of him, from the idea, that his blood began to flow a bit more to a certain area that she intentionally had pushed against her midway between her thighs. An area he tried his best to keep his mind off of...

"Dominate me," she whispered again as she lifted her head up to kiss his neck, "come on, show me that so-called demon side of you. Red eyes, I want to see them. I want him to come out and play with me."

It wasn't like the other day when she mistakenly had her lips against his neck, no, this time she intentionally made a trail down it to his collar bone. No. _No_. The demon did, Kagome didn't, it wasn't Kagome… did he want it to be?

"G-get out of Kagome," he stuttered as he nudged her away.

"N—" she started with a grand smile only to have it disappear as her head gently met the wooden panel floor, her eyes scanned about the rickety hut and her taunting demeanor faded.

"What?" he muttered.

"Ow," she shuttered as she shut her eyes, "I feel sorry for you, thing. So sorry… would you like some advice? Stay away from this girl, get far-far-_far_ away from her and _soon_ too or else… I don't even want to think about what'll happen to you."

"What the hell are ya' talking about?" He questioned with a cocked brow.

"I'd really love to stay and play but I've been called away," she sighed as she opened her eyes, nothing but a gray fog with hints of black swirled around in her eyes before Kagome's body jerked up as a black vapor emanated out of her body and quickly scattered through the cracks in the walls to the storming outside world.

As if life had been breathed back into her, Kagome inhaled deep as her body dropped to the ground as her eyes widened before she coughed.

"Kagome…?"

"Inu…" she swallowed as she looked around baffled at their surroundings then up to him, "Inuyasha…?"

That was the Kagome he knew, well, sort of knew, he was certain of that, his stiff façade softened at that as a breath he did not know he was holding escaped his lips, "stupid girl, do you know what a pain in the ass you've been?"

"Inuyasha…" she murmured as her brows flexed together, "why… are we like this?"

He hadn't really a clue at what she was getting at until he felt her legs slip away from around him and onto the floor, then his cheeks may or may not have reddened depending on who you asked—Kagome would say certainly, Inuyasha would 'keh' a no—as he leaped off of her and folded her arms to turn his head away from her, "you were possessed by a demon or somethin'. It said it was from your time but it might have just been screwing with me… I don't know. Do you know what happened?"

"I," she mumbled as she sat up, her legs to her chest as her hands grasped her upper arms, the strangest glimpse of fear blended vulnerability upon her pretty face, "I… no."

"You stay here, I'm gonna go get the others and tell them you're a'right, Miroku's beside himself with worry," he grumbled the end to himself only to turn away to feel his hakama be tugged. Reluctantly he looked down to the exposed girl.

"Don't go…"

He couldn't help but stare for a bit, not once since her return did he see that type of look upon her face—there was always this hard façade, a smile, an appealing look… sorrow, but not that, not need. She no longer _needed_ his protection—not that he wanted to give it, right…? Expect for that moment, that moment her eyes were begging him for just that, for him to keep to his word that he gave so long ago before she betrayed him with a wordless exit from his life.

Why should he keep his word? Why should he stay and not walk out on her right then like she did him?

Why indeed… he sighed irately as he removed his fire-rat top to drop on her head while he walked over to the opposite side of the fire, "you're gonna freeze to death with just that white thing."

"Thank you," she whispered back, instantly she wrapped her frigid figure in his generous red garment. Little time passed before he noticed something, shivers still coursed through the girl that had her arms wrapped around her knees and his top covering all of her it could, she sat so close to the fire too, shouldn't she have warmed up by then?

"Fire not big enough?"

"Do you think I can lie on the fire with this robe and not get burned?" She chattered back with clanking teeth.

"Are you that cold, Kagome?" A nod was his simple reply, so with another aggravated sigh he got up to walk over to her and sit down once more to pull her into his lap and wrap his arms around her. It did _not_ mean a damn thing, he just couldn't have her freeze to death on him or else Miroku would never let him live it down. That's all, really, honestly, truly, that was _all_. "Does this help?"

"A lot," she muttered back as she rested her head against his chest and shut her eye, the terrible part of being possessed, it drains all the warmth from the body, it takes all one's energy… it's a god-awful feeling.

"Hey, do you remember anything that the demon said… did?" Inuyasha murmured.

With a weak swallow she shook her head and managed an even lamer, "no."

"Oh," he nodded, good, good, no need to be embarrassed then, right?

Well, how was he to know she was lying? That as he held her in his arms she could not tell him the truth? That she remembered, that the demon's words rang so true… that she had little left to live for, and even less time to last.

That he should run from her, far, far away… that awful things were sure to follow if _that_ weak demon could follow her through eras then another, a worse, might come, too…

See, she was selfish, she knew it, she just had to be put in a place to show it. If she wasn't she would have said yes, if she wasn't she would have told him the full truth, if she wasn't she would have told him to run but instead… she wanted him stay.

She was going to hell already, so why not just add onto the criteria for entry?

"I missed you, so much," she whispered for her feeble mind couldn't keep that to herself anymore—or was that heart? Before slumber took her, once her heart beat was steady to match her breath he couldn't seem to help himself either.

In a hush, he murmured back, "same here…"

**{~**¤°•.¤°•.¤°•.¤°•.¤°•.**~}**

_The awful edges where one world ended and the other began shook as a horde rushed through it. A supper massive black thunderous fog cracked its way through the break in time. The very darkness that was responsible for another bright blood colored petal that fell from the slowly diminishing rose astray in a tower far, far away. _

_The nightmare had only begun...  
_

* * *

__**Tuberose: **Dangerous Pleasures 


	9. Poppy

-•°•°•-  
†**{ A** **R**_ose_ by **A**_ny_ **O**_ther _**N**_ame_…** }**†**  
x{ **_0_**9: P**_oppy_** }x  
**-•°•°•-

* * *

_Finally_, the storm recanted fully a day after the formerly-possessed-possible-priestess returned with the oddly hushed hanyou. Importantly, though, her random leave was forgiven when the hanyou explained how a demon had taken control of her—so, everyone simply assumed that was that. Dear timid Tamako was concerned that a demon had gotten so near and none had noticed, which set up an alarm in all their minds but one—of course they didn't notice, they knew of only _their_ type of demons, not _hers_.

And perhaps it was biases but she was so certain hers were worse. That, again, she kept that to herself and the trusting man who had saved her life so many times was foolish enough to believe her lies. He didn't even think to mention that the vixen had proposed the idea that it was from the future, just like the female that walked along with them and parted ways as quickly as possible once they decided it was time to stop.

It was peculiar, in the terrible type of way, how her chest suddenly ached, with a hand upon the bark of one tree she leaned forward and placed her other on the midst of her chambers to rub the valley between her breasts in an attempt to calm the cringe-worthy pain. Her breaths were shallow at best while she shut her eyes and tried to focus on anything but that. But then again, physical pain she could bear, emotional scars lasted too long.

_Damn… it hasn't hurt like this since… since…_ slowly, her lids lifted as her breath hitched itself in her throat. Since a certain someone was last near her. _But… that couldn't… oh, no._

"Are you alright?" Startled her enough that she straightened her back and spun around to see a rather worried monk.

"Fine," she assured swiftly.

"Are you certain? Because you didn't look so alright…"

"I'm fine," she kept up and, to make sure such talk was dead, she inquired instead, "how's the hand?"

"Fine," he nodded as he lifted said cursed item up, "much better than before and seeing as I have yet to need to use it, I think everything will end well."

"I hope so," she sighed, "really, I do."

"Is this about Inuyasha?"

"Absolutely not," she retorted, "why would you think that?"

"Ever since you two's return he has been acting odd…" Miroku murmured with narrowed violets, "quiet… did something occur?"

"No," she almost squealed, it just so happened that while she was possessed the demon might have been a bit grabby and Inuyasha might not have appeared completely turned off by the idea—then again, she was _possessed_ and one rarely remembered such events with exact clarity.

"I see," Miroku grinned as he walked up to his friend, "are you certain?"

"Do you see this ring?" Kagome questioned as she lifted her left hand up to show her prized ruby roses.

"Yes, it's quite attractive, why?"

"It's a symbol that people in my time wear when they… are with someone, solely someone."

"Oh," he mumbled as his eyes flickered between her ring finger and her, "so… are you saying you have someone waiting for you in your era? Perhaps… a Damian?"

Instantly, her brows flexed together, "how… how do you know about him?"

So he guessed right, her couldn't help but smugly smile at that, "you said his name while intoxicated the other night, that you wanted him."

Oh, how she wanted him back… the very thought made her confusion flush away into despair as she twisted her ring around on her finger, "yeah, he gave it to me."

"You love him?"

"Yes," she whispered, "very much."

"More than a handsome hanyou?"

At first she was mute for quite some time as she mulled over that question, it was so _hard_ to answer. How could one measure their love for another? For two, at that? How could she compare the way she felt for one for the way she felt for the other? They were so different, her love for them were so different, but in the end it was simplest to say, "yes."

And perhaps, even true.

"I see…" he nodded as he rested against the tree beside her, "does he treat you well?"

"Very," at least, he had.

"Then I'm happy for you," he said with a smile, "I suppose this explains why you've let Inuyasha go."

"I'm not like Sango," she felt the needed to say, though she wasn't even certain what she was getting at. Perhaps Miroku knew, or perhaps he just didn't want to talk about it, since he just nodded to that.

To talk to her tender friend always helped, it even dulled the pain that emanated from her chest. It also helped her decision to appear clearer to her. For their sake… for his, for those she cared for…

_Tonight, I leave… I can't risk their lives for mine… they'll beat Naraku without my help…_ she sighed slightly as her fingers moved up from her ring to her shikon necklace, the only question left was if she should leave that with them, too.

_I'm as good as dead anyway, might as well give Inuyasha what he really wants…_

Until night, until all were asleep, she'd just lingered with her lean comrade by their camp-site as the sun-set, enjoying her last time with him in tranquility.

x-•°•°•-x

Dusk liberated the confounded hanyou, it'd be alright, he just needed time. Time… that's all, alone, without anyone around, so he could clear his hazy mind—his thoughts were in places they ought not be, how could they betray him like that? He told the truth to Tamako, he needed to stretch his legs, running always made him feel better, and she just smiled and kindly said, "make sure to stay safe, you know how you make me worry sometimes."

She cared about him; she had stopped hiding that fact long ago. He cared about her; he had stopped denying that reality in the not-so-distant-past. And why wouldn't he? She was good to him; she didn't give a damn about the things so many did.

Better yet, she'd never leave him for another time… and even if she could, he had half a mind to think that she wouldn't.

That didn't change the fact that once he was a safe distance away he slowed down to lean against a tree and reach into his robe to pull out a rumpled picture no one knew he carried. He didn't even know why—_denial kept his heart safe._

His thumb caressed the photo of the girl he could now see right in front of him, but… she wasn't the same. She was different—what had happened to the innocence he once knew? It was gone, but not in Tamako… was it betrayal to wander off at nights, days, whenever he had the chance, to stare at the gift from Mrs. Higurashi? Probably, maybe… _yes_.

She looked so happy, her hands were stretched out towards him—the camera—and the smile he had missed was plastered upon her pretty, _pretty_ face. It didn't hurt, too, that she was barely wearing anything. Hey, he was a man, and she did have a nice figure. It wasn't like he hadn't seen her completely nude before, too. Always on 'accident', sure, but whenever he _thought_ he heard something wrong near the hot spring while she was there he couldn't help but hurry over to check on her. It was all kosher, sure…

x-•°•°•-x

Each time he managed to drag his heavy heart to the well he had to linger there for a while and prep himself for the disappointment that had always hit him hard when he ventured back to his era. It shouldn't. He knew… he knew each time he jumped down it to woosh through the odd world and over to the even strange future that Kagome was a hopeless cause, that there was never any news… that even though he'd never admit it, he always thought that _maybe_ just _maybe_ she would be standing in the hut waiting for him to say, "hey, long time no see," with her smile that could light the sky, in her pointless green skirt and mystically always white shirt with her huge yellow bag, ready to return to fighting demons and risking her life on a daily basis.

Because… there was still a life to risk, right? She had to be alive… somewhere.

Just like every other time, though, he was welcomed by an empty dusty hut, which sparked a hefty sigh as he slowly made his way to the house that he was always welcomed at. He had never held anything against Kagome's family, he liked them enough, but her disappearance had made them closer—they had a common goal, a common love. Mrs. Higurashi had become like a second mother who was always there to smile and thank him for all his concern and he'd selfishly take her kindness and home cooked meals—maybe even stay the night. Pretending that she wasn't suffering just as much, if not more.

In the feudal era he had to put on a strong front and pretend himself, like all was OK, that they would kill Naraku. Everything would be OK. But in her era… he could show his pain, they all did.

"Hey, Inuyasha," Souta murmured, usually the kid jumped with joy from his sight but this time… something was wrong. He had to slow his hasten heart.

"What's wrong… kid?"

A sigh preceded, "we figured out what happened to Kagome."

"What…?"

"She sent us a letter," he mumbled, "she's alright, Inuyasha."

All the worry that weighted his bleeding heart disappeared by those two words 'she's alright', he shut his eyes and let a breath he had been holding for months and months and months and _months_ out, "where is she?"

"I don't know," he gripped, "mom! Inuyasha is here!"

"Why aren't you happy?" Inuyasha inquired, "why?"

But Souta decided it was best to have Inuyasha sit down with him, grandpa and his mother at the table.

"She's alright," Mrs. Higurashi started with a weak smile, "these a called photos, it proves she's OK. They are even dated stamped just a week ago." She explained as she spread out the array of pictures filled with blissful beaches, Kagome… a smiling, happy, innocent Kagome giggling with friends.

"By now you probably know that the last note I left you was false. That I never went there… I'm sorry I lied. I'm sure that caused you a lot of worry and sleepless nights; I can't express my regret for my mistakes. Let me explain, I just know I would have never caught up in school. I had missed _so_ many classes, I could never catch up, we all know that. If I did, I'd get into a community college at best with my record. A year of low scores? What college would take me? I just couldn't handle the pressure anymore…

"I'm not perfect but I was supposed to be, I didn't want to have that responsibility anymore. Not in the past and not in the present. I took the coward's way out, I know. It's wrong. I shouldn't have done it. I have no excuse and I'm not trying to make any. I just wanted to live and couldn't there anymore. Now I _love_ life, I've never been happier. I sent some pictures to prove that to you. I have friends, people I care about, people that I love and love me. I'm happy, now I want you to be, too.

"Maybe someday I'll grow up and face reality, I'll stop wandering around the world having the time of my life and come back to Japan. Until then, know I'm alright, that I _am_ happy. I love you all, I always will. Please, let me go. With all the love in the world, Higurashi Kagome," Mrs. Higurashi read as she set down a letter, "she sent this… and a postcard from Nice, France. That's not even in Japan… Inuyasha, sweetie, she's alright but… not coming back."

Why… why... _why_ would she leave like that? Why leave _him_? When she promised she'd always be by his side? How…?

All that sent him into a spiral of sorrow as he sat outside in the nice springtime air to try and sort out his issue—namely, she was gone and wanted it that way.

"Inuyasha," the sweet voice of Mrs. Higurashi whispered as she sat down on next to him, "I think… you need to move on, too… you deserve to be happy."

"Yeah," he muttered back, "sure…"

"Please continue to come visit, though," she requested as she reached into her apron, "I think you should have this, too. If you want…"

All the photos had Kagome in pretty much almost nothing so she really didn't have any choice but to give him one as such, but she did pick the one where she looked happiest.

"Thanks," he muttered as he gently took the photo, "maybe I will…"

"You are a sweet boy," Mrs. Higurashi assured as she got up, placing a hand on his shoulder before she leaned down to give him a gentle kiss on the top of the head, "don't let this make you think otherwise. You deserve someone great."

Shortly thereafter… Tamako appeared, did that mean she was right?

x-•°•°•-x

"She'd probably kill me if she saw this," he muttered as he folded it back to place it in his inner pocket—right by his heart, though he never thought about that. He almost shivered at the thought, maybe the innocence was gone but she was sure the rage was probably there. Before anything other thought could be had he heard a shriek that sparked his run again.

He unsheathed his sword just in time to see ogre looking demon attacking a little girl, it only took one slash for him to make the demon vaporize—no blood to traumatize.

"You OK?" Inuyasha inquired as he knelt down in front of the quivering girl in red rags, "where are your parents?"

"Oh, my hero!" the little girl dramatically declared as she knelt up to look at him with an only overt smirk, "hero, what big ears you have!"

He just cocked a brow at that before she kept talking.

"All the better to make a necklace out of, my child."

"What?" he jeered; she wanted to turn his ears into a… necklace?

"Were you aware in the original take there was no lumber jack to come save little red riding hood from the big bad wolf? She got ate all up," she inquired only to deep his confusion, "of course not, you are ignorant from this boring world."

"What…?"

"Is that the only word you can say?" She asked with a pout as she tilted her head, "I knew that you would come save me. A poor, innocent, little girl, what is it about children that make people so trusting? It's always worked for me; _everyone_ lets the guard down even when they know they shouldn't."

It only took a moment for realization strike, "you're that demon from before, aren't you?"

"No," she coaxed out as she stood up which made her just as tall as the squatting hanyou, "_that_ demon is down here," she squatted to place her hand near the ground, "I'm here," she jumped up to lift her hand high above her head, "way up there on the totem pole. The third highest, really. Oh, and you are in for quite the little nightmare."

"What do you want?" he snarled, "possessing a little girl, that's low."

"That's what I'm told," she grinned, "it's always little girls, you know? They are the easiest to win people over with, boys are alright but people expect them to be able to protect themselves but if I'm in a sweet, _cute_, wittle gurls body everyone jumps to help. All the time, stupid people, do you know how it worked on well? _Very_ well? Kagome," she frowned playfully, "so well, she used to be so sweet… so innocent, I think I broke her."

"Stay away from her," Inuyasha growled, "_far_ away."

"No, tell me where Kagome is and I'll make your death relatively painless."

"Keh," he stood up instead, "screw you. It ain't happen'."

"I want to know where Kagome is _now_," she retorted with a stomp, "now!"

"Go to hell," he countered.

"You first," she scowled before something snapped and she switched to a smile, "_fine_ be that way…. Kagome has more tricks up her sleeves than I had ever predicted, vanishing to a whole different time period? Who would have thought? It took me a while to figure it out but I found her," she sung tauntingly, "but I should I known, like father like daughter and I _know_ the daughter wants to see the father so why not give her to me?"

"Get out of that body," Inuyasha ordered as he leaned down to glare at her at eye level, "you aren't going to get Kagome's body, either if that's what you want."

"Ka-go-me has hurt you," the girl whispered, "but from what I hear you still want her body more than I do. You see, I don't want it, it's far too dangerous. I just want to kill it and send her to hell where she belongs."

"I won't let you ever touch her," he assured.

"I'm sure you believe that," she nodded before she jolted forward quick enough to give him a kiss on the cheek before he could retract, "tell Ka-go-me that I _foouunnd heerr_ and I killed you. The rules are always the same."

"What?" he grunted before a black vapor left the little girl's body, she collapsed quickly.

There was nothing he could do but stand there baffled for some time before he scooped up the lightly breathing little girl to rush her back to Tamako, "take care of her, OK?"

"Poor girl, a demon attack is so strenuous, I'll do my best," Tamako she started to tend to the little girl with Sango and Miroku's aid. "Inuyasha, where are you going?"

"I gotta go talk to Kagome," Inuyasha barely said before he jumped off to find the girl that was lurking away from the dark campsite. He had to go to the rocky river bed before he found her, "you!"

She jumped as she grasped her pounding, painful, chest to turn around and see the annoyed hanyou, "what…?"

"Some weird shit just happened," he started as he walked up to her, "I found this little girl who was possessed by another demon that says she's from your world. What the fuck? What's going on Kagome?"

Her heart dropped to her stomach before she found a way to breathe again, "w… wha… what? What did… did it say?"

"To tell you that she found you," he mocked, "and that she killed me. Something about the rules," he yawned, "being the same."

She took a sharp breath in before she grasped one of the tall rocks beside her to slowly lower herself to sit upon, her eyes wide and stuck upon the ground as Inuyasha, too, wearily sat down on a long rock slab.

"What is going on, Kagome?" he weakly said with another yawn on the end of his words, "that girl… was pretty… odd."

"Are," she swallowed as she looked up to him as he slowly lied down, "you OK? Inuyasha? What did she do to you?"

"Nottin'," he murmured just as he shut his eyes.

"Inuyasha?" She questioned but… nothing. "_Inuyasha_? Inuyasha?" That was when panic set enough for her to start to shake his body, "Inuyasha!"

_Nothing, why? Why? No! No! Not Inuyasha… not him too, please, no,_ she pled as she grasped his fire-rat robe, "please, Inuyasha, open your eyes!" At least he was still breathing but… but, she took a deep breath as she shook him again. _What did she do to you? Oh, gods, Inuyasha, please wake up!_

"Help!" She shrieked, "Miroku! Tamako! Someone! Help!"

Shortly after her cries all appeared just like that, Sango, Miroku, and Tamako—the slayers that still traveled with them stayed behind to watch the little girl.

"What happened?" Tamako sped as she ran over to kneel down on the other side of Inuyasha, "Inuyasha?"

"I don't know," she half-way told the truth, "that demon… that possessed a girl… she placed a curse on her or something. I don't know…"

"Is he alright?" Sango asked as her eyes darted from her friend to Miroku.

"He seems like he's just asleep," Tamako murmured as her hands moved up to his neck, "but he's losing his warmth… what happens if he doesn't wake up? Do you think he'll…?"

"What'd he say about the curse?" Miroku inquired.

She took a breath for a moment to think about that, "the rules… are the same."

"What does _that_ mean?" Tamako sighed, "the same as what?"

And that was the key—as _always_ and what were the rules? Anything goes _but_ what was that devil's favorite thing in the whole wide world? What did it enjoy to do? "Fairy-tales," she murmured to herself as her hazels shifted over Inuyasha's sleeping façade.

Sleeping… fairy-tale, "duh," she sighed with a shake of her head, "sleeping beauty."

"What?" Tamako mumbled with a cocked brow.

"It's a fairy-tale from where I'm from, that's the key, it always is—the rules are the same," Kagome actually smiled at that revelation, "there are a lot of variations but… all end with a kiss waking the person up. Most say it has to be a kiss by the one under the curse's true love," she paused for a bit before her eyes darted up to meet Tamako's auburns, "so kiss him, Tamako."

"What?" She gasped as her cheeks flushed to match the color of her hair, "kiss… him?"

Had they really never done that? Was it wrong that even though Inuyasha's life was in danger she found the time to be happy? That was swiftly killed when she felt how cold his cheek had gotten, "hurry, no time to be shy."

Tamako took a deep breath before she nodded and leaned down to kiss him on his almost frigid cheek only to hear, "_no_, it has to be on the lips." She meekly nodded before she lift up and close her eyes to press her lips to his. Gradually, she pulled away to open her lids and see nothing had changed.

"Damn," Kagome muttered, "if only Kikyou was her… wait, sorry, no offense, Tamako," she quickly added as she glanced up to the puzzled girl.

"I don't take any," she assured, "but… maybe you should try? You have part of Kikyou's soul, maybe it'll work?"

"No, I doubt that would work," she stretched out as her eyes flickered between the redhead and hanyou. Did she really have the right to just reject any idea, though? It was _her_ fault he was lying there near death, _hers_, so shouldn't she try anything? "But I'll try," she murmured as she carried out the action reluctantly, she didn't bother to even close her eyes to kiss him upon his icy lips.

All held their breath to see if the hanyou would stir… and, to their disappointment, nothing happened.

"It needs to be her really," Tamako guessed with sigh, "I don't know where she is… do we have time to go look for her? Do we have any other choice, though?"

"I," Kagome murmured as she let one of her hands grasp his, it was so… cold. All of him was, it was happening so fast—he was just yelling at her, then two yawns later he was asleep. That was how it always was, though… the death was either swift or stretched out with terrible agony.

_At least it's probably peaceful to die in his sleep…_ and, yes, before you wonder, she did slap herself upside the head for ever _thinking_ that. How could she? Was she really going to give up already? Really let him die for _her_? No, _fuck_ no. So she squeezed his hand and started to shout, "wake up! Do not die! No one will forgive you if you do! I know you are stronger than that, Inuyasha!"

That was when she allowed complete resolve to swarm behind her as she quickly let her lips collide with his, her eyes tightly shut all the while. She took a small breathe when she pulled a way to look over the stilled figure, "Inuyasha…"

That was when a flicker of hope was given to her in the form of his lids lifting slowly, a sigh of relief escaped her lips as they opened all the way to focus on her face—her _very_ close face.

"What the hell?" He sped as he jerked up and away from her.

"Thank god," Kagome sighed.

"Inuyasha, we were so worried!" Tamako cried out as she wrapped her arms around his neck, "don't do that again!"

"Don't do what…?" The baffled boy muttered as his golden gaze flickered from one female to the other.

Did he miss something...?

x-•°•°•-x

"Leave me alone," Kagome demanded the moment her monk entered the area she was sitting at, "I don't want to talk about it."

"Talk about the fact that true love's kiss broke the spell?" Miroku inquired as he sat down next to her, "or why you knew what the demon wanted…? Or why, two days in a row, someone has been possessed by a demon…? Or, perhaps, if there is something the matter that you might want to tell us about?"

"Some versions of the tale _don't_ say anything about true love," she assured with a wave of her hand, "forget it, don't bother me about it. Go away."

"Kagome…"

"_Please_," she pled as her hurt hazels shifted to his violets, "please… Miroku… I'm begging, not now."

"Okay," he whispered back with a nod, "but… perhaps you would be interested in what we plan to do tomorrow? Earlier Sango, Tamako and I were talking about it. I know a psychic in the east, she owes me a favor, so we are going to go try and locate her. Perhaps she can tell us how to find Naraku."

"Sounds great," she muttered, too bad… she wouldn't be joining them.

That was too close… she had to leave, tonight, the first chance she got.

_No more… I can't take anymore blood on my hands,_ she thought with a tinge in her eyes as she pressed her lips together to keep her shaky hands in. _I could never forgive myself if something happened to Inuyasha…_

That was, after all, why she left all those years ago...

**{~**¤°•.¤°•.¤°•.¤°•.¤°•.**~}**

_A frozen figure rested on a slab in the midst of darkness. A hue of glowing red faded from the corners to progressively cascade inward until it touched the still shape. So, so, slowly it swirled around it until there was nothing left but a burning bright blaze. _

* * *

**A/N**: Thank you so, so much for all the reviews! You have no idea how happy that makes me :)

And, yes, to those wise ones who guessed it, Supernatural was an influence on me.

**Poppy**: Imagination, Dreaminess, Eternal Sleep


	10. Fern

†**{ A** **R**_ose_ by **A**_ny_ **O**_ther _**N**_ame_…** }**†**  
x{ **_1_**0: F**_ern_**}x  
**-•°•°•-

* * *

Dead. D E A D—four letters, a small word, such a _small_ word but it meant the world because it could ruin it, for some. For a girl—woman?—with ebony tousles and an empty hazel stare that word was too familiar, too close to home, it wrecked the woman—the girl? Down went her world.

Too many were, and how many could she claim sole responsibility for? How many could she take partial? _So many_… so many it tore her apart every which way, now would she allow another's blood to be shed for her? Any of them? Especially the hot-headed hanyou that she wanted more than anything to keep safe? That was why she left, why she ran far away from the well—from her link to him. Her family, too, she meant to keep safe… water and blood, which was more important? How could one be measured to the other?

The moon had long ago taken the sky but she waited to make sure that all around her were fully asleep before she slowly got to her feet, picked up her bag and gradually stepped around anything that might cause a sound. She felt like a burglar in one of the old cartoons she watched as a child trying to stealthy and silent—particularly when someone draped in red dropped down in front of her. That's right, because the burglar always got caught.

"Where ya' going?" Inuyasha inquired with his arms in the classic position, folded in front of his chest. His angered ambers squarely on her, burning a hole threw her already weak self.

"Bathroom…" she wearily whispered the first word that came to mind.

"Uh-huh," he murmured as his gaze flickered over her figure, "we need to talk."

"Do we?" She queerly questioned, "I don't believe we do."

"We do," he countered as he grasped her arm to yank her a safe distance away in case he wanted to start shouting, he'd hate to wake up the others, and they might have tried to cool his heated temper.

"Inuyasha," she complained as he pushed her forward and stopped in a clearing, "what? I'm tired; can we do this another time?"

"_Where_ were you going?" he asked again.

"Bathroom," she repeated with a bit of an attitude.

"Want to tell me the truth? 'Cause I'd like to hear it, that and what the fuck's going on. Demons are flocking to you all of a sudden, demons from _your_ era, since when did your time have demons?" He integrated as he took two steps closer to him, which she quickly took away, "there's something wrong, tell me the truth already."

The truth, she almost laughed at that idea, the truth was so… so… out there, so complicated, so beyond him—hell, even her, as if she could tell him the truth. She could barely figure it out herself; the world wasn't a black and white type of place.

"What is going on, Kagome," he slowly drew out, "tell me, damn it."

"Nothing, I don't know what you are talking about," she lied because that was the only way to protect him. What if she did tell him, hey, you know, they want to kill me? Obviously, regardless if they are anything more than friends—if that—he would try to help her, protect her. She could tell him the honest truth over and over again, it wasn't her that needed protecting but him… and everyone she loved that was in her proximity.

"Kagome!' Inuyasha growled, "you want me to believe that you aren't in trouble? That… what? What else could it possibly be?"

"I… have no idea what you are talking about," she shrugged, "I think your head is still foggy because of that curse."

"From the kid that did nothing but talk about you!"

"The demon was messing with you," Kagome ridiculed, "it figured out I matter to you so that's that."

"First off, you don't matter," Inuyasha bickered, "secondly, how'd it know about stuff from your time?"

"You see…" she coaxed out before she bit her bottom lip and gave up, resorting to the only way out she could think of, "uh, well… _sit_."

She couldn't run away, he'd be up before she could get far enough that she knew he wouldn't follow so she sprinted to the only place she knew he wouldn't yell at her—the campsite, where everyone was getting their much needed rest. There she quickly dropped down and pretended for the rest of the night she was asleep… only to wake up to see a hanyou with his golden gaze locked onto her.

There was no escaping, not yet, but she would. It was for his own good, why couldn't he see that?

x-•°•°•-x

Goddamn golden globes followed her every place she went, she didn't get a second to sneak away and the hot-headed hanyou made damn sure of that. Not that she hadn't tried quite a few times, and it failed, every single time so she was forced to follow them to the foggy and ever so creepy forest which nothing but dead and black trees once they got deeper into it.

"I have bad feeling about this," Kagome sassed with a special glare to Inuyasha.

"Do _you_ know where Naraku is?" He retorted.

"And what makes you think a _psychic_ will?" She countered, "because, you know, well… they _lie_ a lot."

"Sounds like you two will have plenty to talk about then."

To that she just narrowed her eyes, who would have thought he could have thought of a clever comeback that could cause a cringe?

Regardless of her hesitation and _hate_ to go to any related to a psychic they continued on until they reached a hut in the midst of a circle of nothing, "I refuse to go in there."

"Kagome," Miroku sighed as he lowered his staff, "please, just come."

"Yeah, come," Inuyasha ordered as he grabbed her arm harshly to tug her in—he knew better than to leave her outside all by herself, she had been trying to run away for a long time.

"Miroku-sama," a lady chimed as she walked out from the back of her hut to sit down at the table with a hodgepodge of spells and tools that looked important, "greetings, I knew you would come."

"Of course you did," Kagome muttered to herself as her bothered hazels drifted about the place and all its objects she designated as useless.

"I am afraid I know what you are going to ask for," the elegant lady with livid locks of ebony smiled, "where is Naraku?"

"Yes," Miroku acknowledged as they all sat down around the table for the exclusion of Kagome, who stood to the side with folded arms and more weight on one leg then the other, "but…?"

"I cannot give you the answer to that, he is far too powerful, he knows how to block his presence," she frowned only for a moment, "if there is anything else… I'd be happy to give it a try."

"Well, at least you don't lie and say you know," she murmured, which finally caught the russet orbs of the psychic.

"You doubt my abilities?"

"Really?" Kagome laughed dryly, "you think? Gosh, well, you must be psychic to figure _that_ one out. Here, let me give you a freebie, so you don't have to waste your power trying to figure out what I'm thinking," she proposed as she pointed to the psychic with her entire, "you are _useless_. The whole lot of you people that 'claim' to be able to see the future."

"And the past," she daintily retorted, "like yours, for instance."

"Really? Mm-hm," she sassed as she folded her arms once more and nodded with pressed lips, "sure you can."

"You are a girl from another world."

"Grand guess! I wonder how you figured that out," she muttered as she waved her hands around the clothe, "jeez, I really can't imagine how you figured that one out."

"You wear a happy façade, at least a decent one, but on the inside you are cynical and broken, yearning for the rapture that the end will hopefully bring you while desiring to destroy everything that ruined your life all at once—but, you know that's a problem, because you can only have one or the other. As of late, death has been ever so alluring."

"Ha," Kagome mocked, "right, sure, great, again. You know why you so called psychics are good at what you do? Hm? How about… the fact that you can profile people, that's what you do, you look for little tell signs so that you can keep talking and talking until you notice you've said something wrong and then you change and people just automatically remember all you got right instead of all you got wrong."

"So contemptuous," she cooed, "you are a miserable person but hate to show it. You once were a sweet girl, you once believed there was light in the world, and you once would have even believed in my powers but something shattered that happy— what you now would call— delusion. Now all you believe in is evil, you know that's real, you've seen, you _feel_ it. Goodness… you can't grasp that anymore."

"Again, _wow_," she overly dramatically gasped at, "you _must_ be psychic cause that isn't the exact same damn thing as you were saying just a moment ago."

"Damian."

That got her to falter, her face to go blank, her shoulders to sag, her everything to stop.

"Damian," the women replied as her eyes poured into the stunned stare, "so… tell me how did I figure that one out? What tell gave me that name?"

She had to swallow before she could speak again, "I… I…"

"I…?" she taunted with a tilt of her head to allow her onyx tousles to topple over one shoulder as her gaze wandered up the girl, "that's what broke your world that was already in shambles from a father who failed you."

She shook her head and glanced away as her fists gripped together and she held her breathe, she didn't know what she was talking about… _there's no way she knows what she is talking about._

"What's going on?" Tamako inquired as her eyes flickered between the two, "Miss, you are upsetting her."

"Please stop, Izanami-sama," Miroku intervened as well.

"I'll stop," she assured, "if she wants me to, so, do you, Higurashi Kagome? Or would you like me to continue?"

"Go to hell," she whispered.

"If you want, but…" she drew out as she traced her fingers around on the table with a pout, "wouldn't you like to know why you have such terrible luck, why you seem to be so _cursed_?"

A heavy sigh preceded, "I'm sure I already know."

"That it is the fault of who you once were?"

"What's that supposed to mean," Inuyasha grunted.

"Kikyou," the psychic stated as her gaze glanced to the hanyou across from her, "when she was alive she got herself cursed by a power mystic. No matter how many times she is reincarnated; no matter how many lives she lived, she would forever endure one tragedy after another, one _pain _after the other. Kikyou, of course, thought nothing of it at the time… how many people had cursed her for doing her duty? But she should have paid heed to that one, it's ruined you life, hasn't it, _Kagome_?"

"Whatever," she murmured.

"You can't blame something like that on Kikyou-sama, if what you are saying is true," Tamako input, "she was only doing her duty."

"Still," the psychic shrugged, "a girl that learns that all her woes are due to a woman she was never too fond of to start with…? I completely understand where the resentment arose from."

"Mm-hm," Kagome grinned obviously bothered, "cause that's exactly what I feel."

"Right, I'm wrong," the psychic pouted, "let me re-word it into the truth, shall I? You _loath_ Kikyou. You blame her completely, after all what brings you tragedy brings you family tragedy like… your father? Isn't that all Kikyou's fault in your mind? What if she just didn't piss off that one mystic? Because, Gods forbid it's_ his_ fault, it has to be Kikyou's—"

"Shut up," Kagome ordered, "_shut_ up. Just be quite, you don't know what you are talking about."

"Ah, so your father is off limits but I can bad mouth Kikyou all I'd like?" She taunted with a smirk, "is that how it is?"

"Go to hell," Kagome cursed.

"Oh, you would know all about that, wouldn't you?"

"Shut up," Inuyasha growled, "let's go already, she's obviously useless."

"Wait," the psychic protested at the first sign of Kagome's retreat, "what if I could tell you how to save one of them?"

She couldn't help it; she took the bait that dangled so dearly in front of her, "one… of them?"

"Of the two that you love most," she shrugged slightly as her teasing gaze moved up to her, "because, as hard as it is to hear, only one can be saved, the other will be lost… forever, one to flames, the other to an abyss."

"What…?"

"You know what I am saying," she whispered as she stood up to walk over to the girl she was at least a foot taller than, "what if you had to choice between them, Damian and… the other," she nudged her shoulder towards the table enough that she got the picture—she knew who she meant. A certain hanyou that had once meant her entire world…

"I... I couldn't," she muttered, "I couldn't. I couldn't."

"What's going on?" Sango inquired with a sigh, the others were too dumbfounded to interrupt.

"'_If_' is just a nice word to add, I'm telling you," she leaned forward to speak in such a hush into the traumatized girl's ear, "you the chance here to save one or the other. Now chose… or live on knowing you stood by and did nothing."

"And let fate take its course, isn't that what you are supposed to say," she snapped.

"Fate requires that you intervene in one's favor," she retorted, "now, Damian or…? Who would you chose? Which love is more vital? Which love could not live without? _Which_?"

She just shook her head again, "you are screwing with me. You don't know what you are talking about."

"I do, I assure you," the psychic countered as she grasped Kagome's left hand's ring finger, "so tell me, which is it?"

Time stood still for a moment for her, _how could I pick?_

Time kills everything, hope, dreams, and even love. Everything we love is eventually murdered by the time, so would she let another second slip away? If she could truly have just one more moment with him? Just one…? She blinked away the tinge that threatened to break free before she pressed her lips to take a sharp breath in.

Her answer… there was one her conscious could not live with as a causality—hell, it couldn't live with either but her heart… her soul… her something told her to say, "Damian."

The psychic even allotted her the time to change her mind but she didn't—time, the ficklest of bitches.

"Damian," she repeated, "but… I know that's not… he's… I know… I saw…"

"What if I told you he was waiting for you at the village to the east?" She inquired, "what if I told you—"

She didn't have the time to finish that thought before Kagome sprinted out of there as fast as her feet could take—faster than she ever knew she could run before in her life. She jumped and dodged all things that got in her way. What if was good enough to strain every bit of her energy, even if the psychic was simply screwing with her, she simply didn't care. Later, she would, later; she'd go back and kill her.

She was in such a haste she even forgot her bag.

By the time she broke out of the forest to the outskirts of the village she was out of breath and almost keeling over…_ was it all just a wild goose chase…? I'm gonna kill her…_

"Kagome," a blissfully familiar tone called out. Her eyes shut as she found her breath and prepped herself for what she was certain would be disappointment but when she opened her lids she saw a wonderfully memorable man walking out of one of the huts with a surreal smile on his handsome face.

"D… Da…" she barley had the breath to say his name without the stun, so she just let her feet carry her over to the boy that opened up his arms so she could thrust herself into them. His rose musk scent was the same, his feel was the same, the force in which he hugged her back was the _same_.

It was most likely a lie… for she'd let it go for the moment.

"Damian," she finally stuttered out as she shut her eyes to let a tear or two escape, "Damian!"

"Kagome," he repeated with candor care as he stroked her break, "you know how it makes me feel to see you cry. Remember how I promised you I would find you? You just needed to have more faith in me."

"Damian," was all she could say in return.

That was when the group emerged from fallowing Kagome out of the forest to a baffling sight which they merely watched with confusion, until a certain hanyou picked up on something that made his brows flick up.

x-•°•°•-x

All together, they sat around a warm table with plenty of food that was kindly provided to them by the inn keeper upon Miroku's finished scheme.

"You are related," Inuyasha stated as his golden gaze dully sat on the glittery eyed girl that couldn't help but stare with love and affection to the boy next to him.

"Yeah," Kagome smiled. _If Inuyasha can smell our alike scent then it really is him… it really is Damian. Not some delusion... not some trick, right?  
_

"Yeah?" Inuyasha drew out, "_yeah_? Anything else?"

"We are half-siblings," she explained as she reluctantly tore her hazels away from him, "my father… he had another family before he met my mother, I only found out around the same time I stopped coming back to the feudal era."

"Is that why you left?" Sango asked.

"Something like that," she muttered back.

"How did you get here?" Inuyasha inquired as his suspicious stare locked onto the overly comfortable jet-black haired boy.

"The well, Kagome told me all about it," he simply replied.

"How could you can get through it?"

He just shrugged, "it just worked."

"How'd you get _here_?"

"I've been looking for Kagome. I've been wandering everywhere, finally, I found her," he smiled as he patted her on the back, "you never make things easy for me."

"Sorry," she giggled. It was true, her father was pretty much a man-whore in her opinion, two wives which he abandoned both times after having children? Sure, her father claimed to have a reason but… she couldn't stay mad at him, either. If her dear morally corrupt father wasn't the way he was, she would never have known her older brother who she cherished dearly and who, in return, adored her.

_And, thus, Lilith hates me_, she couldn't help but think as Damian and Miroku began up a conversation about his odd name—it was simple, really, his mother was European, he was half and half. From each wife, her father had two children—one girl, one boy. Lilith, her half-sister, had always been jealous of the quick connection that had formed between Kagome and Damian upon contact . She had blatantly feared that it might have replaced her sibling bond with her _full_-brother.

"I don't know about all of you," Damian yawned, "but I've had a long day's journey and I'd just like to go to bed…"

As if by magic, the inn keeper arrived to mention, "the inn is so empty tonight, I can give you each a room if you'd like."

"That would be wonderful," Damian replied with a broad smile, "thank you for your kindness."

"That's weird," Miroku muttered, "that almost never happens…"

"Yeah," Inuyasha murmured in return, all thought the same escape one girl from the future that was too lost in her lala-land of joy for her brother's return. Now _that_ was the smile the hanyou had pondered about, really, he shouldn't have minded to see the innocent, carefree curl return when she was just expressing it to her _brother_… it wasn't like it was another love interest—not that that would matter… probably.

x-•°•°•-x

"Kagome," Miroku whispered before she reached the room she would take for the night.

"Hey," she replied in a hush back, "what?"

"I have a question," he replied wearily as his violets ventured about to verify that the coast was clear, "you said… Damian… the ring, the 'belonging' to one person…?"

"Oh," she coaxed, "yeah, _that_ was kinda a lie but at the same time not really. You see, he did give it to me," she smiled as she showed him her prized possession once more, "it's a family heirloom on his mother's side and he knew I'd like it, so he gave it to me for one of my birthdays. I wore it on the finger because it is a symbol of marriage or intent to do so at least… because I always hated it when guys would hit on me, most stopped but then there were still those stubborn bastards."

"I see," he nodded.

"Nothing inappropriate is going on, I assure you," Kagome laughed lightly, "I just knew if I told you a suggestive truth that you'd leave me alone about the whole… you know, thing."

"So, there really is no reason to avoid your feelings for Inuyasha?" He surmised only to smile at the glare she gave him before bidding him a goodnight.

For the first night in a long, _long_ time she was able to fall asleep right away because that horrid amount of guilt was gone—her brother was alive. _Alive_. All that time she was certain he had died in the church, that she had lost him, but really… he had made it out of there somehow and found her just as her promised.

With him… she could make it through anything. He was blood, he was so important, he was her _brother_—half or not, it didn't matter.

That was why she didn't notice the door slide open or shut. That was why she was ignorant to the shadow that cascaded over her as a figure knelt down beside her while she flipped from side to side in her restless sleep. If not for the hand that lifted up to stroke her cheek she would never have noticed, her lids would not have lifted to see who it was—and a smile would not have appeared as she said, "Damian."

But, he didn't say anything as he leaned over her.

"What's up?" She yawned. After a pause of hush she blinked away the sleep to see the odd smile of utter peace he was giving her, with a lifted brow she propped herself upon her elbows some, "what is it?"

Before she was able to say anything else he placed a hand over her mouth and slammed her down to the ground, "sh, sh, don't worry."

Her brows bent together as she looked up at him with utter confusion as auburn gaze flirted all around her face, "I figured something out… Children are no longer your weakness, I've burnt that out of you," he pouted, "but your brother will always be your soft spot."

Her hazels widened drastically as she lifted her hands up to grasp his to try and pull it away but it didn't budge, "settle down, do you really want to make a scene and bring you friends into this? That attractive fellow of yours, I could always… make bad things happen to him, too, just like I did your brother. No, no, no, no," he soothed as his brows furrowed together with phony concern at the shock on her face, "don't worry, your brother's not dead. And you are _such_ a good girl that you'd never, ever kill a family member even if they are possessed by a demon… even if it is _me_. You proved that with that mishap of yours that ended your father.

"You know," he muttered as he bit his bottom lip briefly, "I've never been one for this whole thing—sex, is that what it's called? I don't get why it has so many in a frantic frenzy for the chance to rape you," he sighed, "so maybe I should try it out? See what all the fuss is about? Rumor has it," he whispered as he leaned down to her ear, "you are still a _virgin_, too."

"Mm!" She tried her best to struggle but it only led him to adjust over her so she couldn't move, "mm!"

"Sh, or else I'll have all the demons that are surrounding us right now, the _whole_ village is possessed," his lips curved up to relish in the fear that widened her eyes, "might have to hurt those that are sleeping so soundly in the rooms in this inn… or you could be quite, and just allow this to happen.

"I have to admit," he smirked, "that I would get such a thrill out of traumatizing you two with this, too. After all, Damian is still watching, still locked away inside trying so hard to stop my reign over his body but failing. Even if I leave this body—which, might I add, will kill him—you two… how would you ever look in the eyes of your beloved brother? Oh, how disgusting, how vile, how _thrilling_. I can't help myself, the prospect is too sweet."

To that she shook her head but he just readjusted his hand over her mouth to press harder and wrapped his other hand around her wrist all the more, "struggle, please, it's to no avail but… I do so enjoy it. Tonight I'll take the last bit of innocence left. Then there will be nothing left to break, right?"

And, really, there was nothing the dreadful demon wanted more.

**{~**¤°•.¤°•.¤°•.¤°•.¤°•.**~}**

_The luscious rose that had yet to wither, each of its petals were still plumb and ruby in color, but had begun to tilt to the side that had more weight. It was a pitiable sight of a nearly petal free flower that's glow had began to fade in its glass container that could barely keep the darkness out… it only got worse when another petal fell._

* * *

**Fern**: magic, fascination, confidence


	11. Marigold

†**{ A** **R**_ose_ by **A**_ny_ **O**_ther _**N**_ame_…** }**†**  
x{ **_1_**1: M**_arigold_**}x  
**-•°•°•-

Blood boiled and toiled while the time that tortured and twisted the tattered dame dangled on, so many thoughts raged around in her hectic, hazy mind—what could she do? What _should_ she do? Scream? Then those that she wanted to save would be drawn into her dangerous damned world and the demons that lingered within it, around it, all about it.

That… she couldn't do, though the tears that threatened to overwhelm her shut lids beckoned for her to do just that.

_Someone… stop this… save me_, she was weak. _Weak_. She loathed that aspect about herself the most, but it was the truth—she was always the weak link no matter what it came to. She had gotten better from the completely useless school girl she once was, the one that screamed out Inuyasha's name as he fought for her, she had grown, matured, and became stronger around her family, fierce friends, and through all the trials and tribulations she was thrust into… but she was what destroyed them, _her_ weakness.

If she had no heart, she would have been perfect but the fickle bitch always got in the way, always stopped her from doing what needed to be done.

Her father had always scolded her about that… he was right.

Her mind ached to be anywhere but there, she shut her eyes so she would not see her brother's body—but _not_ really him—violate her, she wished she could do what all those who were abused said they could, separate their soul from their body and pretend they were not there.

It didn't happen… she'd give her soul away for so much at that one moment.

Hands drifted up her body before a burst broke in, a growl, and a yank got her to weakly open her eyes when a struggle—a hanyou and a possessed body. The latter was thrown out of the inn room followed by the red draped hot-head.

"What the hell were you doing?"

"My, my," the demon cooed as he thumbed away the dripping blood from his lip as his playful auburns moved to the shaking girl that walked to the busted door. "You have a new hero, how fun!"

Her jaw opened only vaguely, her head shook so slightly, but nothing could be said—there went her world. Was that worse than death?

Would she rather him… be _dead_? That bastardized four letter word to be true?

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Inuyasha snarled to snatch the possessor's attention back, "huh?"

"_We_ are going to have _so_ much fun together," the man gigantically grinned in return, "_so_ much. I get shivers just thinking about all the other curses I could—will—place on you. Until then," he waved his hand and let his gaze go back to the still stunned damsel ever so deep in distress, "I will see _you_ later, my dear, precious, _sister_, and we'll pick up where we left off."

"Hey!" Inuyasha grunted as he grabbed the man by the collar, "I'm talking to you!"

"Not anymore," he whispered back before a swirl of somber smoke blew out of the entire village to brush by them. Inuyasha let go to cover his face and Kagome shut her eyes to avoid what horrors might have come. Once they both opened their eyes to look around at the settled scenery Damian was gone.

After the initial confusion left Inuyasha's senses returned enough for him to spin around and start his shouting all over again, "what the hell was that! Aren't you siblings!"

She took a shaky breath in before she grasped the walls enough to walk out of the room and stumble down to the hot-headed hanyou, "I…" she tried to start but before he could curse her for her stutters she threw arms around his neck and tears exploded to stream down her cheek.

That, of course, shocked him into silence and a rigid stance. After a while of her balling not ending he reluctantly, halfheartedly patted her on the back, "it's… OK?" He guessed that was what she was aiming for.

"Thank you!" She gasped for air as she pulled away to look up at him with watery eyes, still leaking out from her corners, "thank you, thank you, thank _you_."

So… she didn't want whatever was going on to happen? He guessed, then again, how many sisters willingly let their brother place a hand upon their mouth, pin her arms above her heads and… obviously have disgusting intentions? She did look a bit terrified if he thought about it for a bit, "Kagome… what the hell's going on?"

For once, he didn't sound mad, for once, his face was clear of contoured anger, for once, there was earnest concern on his frowning face.

She took another rickety breath in as she whipped away the tears, "I… I'll tell you everything," she sniffled, "I will…"

"Good."

"But," she paused, "will you do me a favor first?"

Wearily he nodded, if she truly didn't look so torn, so tired, and frail he might have disagreed, he would have demanded answers first but he had to tighten his grip to keep the faint female from letting her weak knees give out.

When was the last time he had seen her so… vulnerable? After the demon had left her she was just worn, but this time she was… broken.

"Take me back to the psychic, please," she hadn't the strength to make it through the forest—not that she could even find her way. Reluctantly he agreed and squatted down so that she could climb onto his back before he took off to speed through the forest until they hit the area where there were no vegetation and just dead trees, a bit more and they reached the clear circle with the hut in the center. There, he set her down so that they could knock on the door—though; they couldn't before it opened up so that the arrogant lady could be seen.

"Well, you look like hell," she smirked, "I knew you'd return."

"Did you know," Kagome mocked meekly, "you… you lied."

"No, come in, let's talk, but hanyou, wait out here," she ordered as she stepped aside so the fractured maiden from the future could enter into the hut before she shut the door in the confused Inuyasha's face and walked over to sit at her candle lit table.

"You said… you _said_ I could save him," she tried to sass, to hiss, but it came out all wrong, wrecked. "You said if I chose I could save him… I chose him, you lied. You knew he was possessed and you didn't even—"

"No," she countered swiftly, "you ran away before I could tell you. I was warning you when you sprinted out of her like hell fire was chasing you. If only you stayed longer I could have spared your traumatic near-rape experience."

"You are a fucking liar," she cursed, "you said I could—"

"_And_ you can," she asserted clearly, "and I will tell you exactly how to but…"

"_But_?" She sighed as she slowly walked over to kneel down on the opposite side of the table, "but… what?"

"You must admit that I am not a fraud, that I have true power," she grinned, "praise my power, too."

She had to bite her tongue to keep from insulting her, she had to narrow her eyes to keep her composure, but if it could save… if there was even a glimpse of hope… she'd give up her dignity.

"You… are not a fraud," she barely managed to get out between clenched teeth, "you are… powerful, very… powerful. You are a real psychic."

"You believe in my power," she instructed.

"Yes," she grunted, "I believe in… your power."

"Grand," she smiled brightly, "now, like I said, you can only save one. So are you sure you still want that _one_ to be your dear half-brother? Or would you like to change your answer to the half-demon? Personally, I don't understand your interest there… he _is_ what he is."

"A good person," Kagome stressed.

"Mm-hm, sure, so would you rather save your possible lover or your certain brother? One has to die to keep the other alive, so which?"

That was when her mind went on the fritz, when it overloaded so much she needed to pause. How could she pick? Her heart even went blank at the prospect—it was too hard of a decision. But she had before, and she would again, because blood was thicker than water… blood bound her to Damian, along with wonderful memories and so much more.

He was her brother… her _brother_, her _blood_, hers. And why was he stuck in the position he was? Because of _her_, because of his conviction to protect _her_, and he had done so nobly for so long—the very thought made her unblinking eyes blur once more.

"My," she took a breath in as she blinked away the tears, freely letting them fall, "brother."

"That's what I thought," the psychic proclaimed, "you must let the hanyou die then."

"What… do you mean?"

"You know you are a cursed in more way than one," she couldn't help but taunt some, "the one that was implied to your soul because Kikyou also asserted that no happiness would be found on the grounds of love which made you star-crossed lovers which means nothing good."

"How about you just tell me what I need to do," she muttered.

"You really didn't figure it out?" She inquired as she leaned forward, "that your brother shares the same soul as…?"

"_As_?"

"That hanyou you hold so dear, silly," she stated, "see, fate doesn't want you two together so what does it do? It brings you two back together as blood so that you could not do anything naughty-naughty."

"What?" She sighed as her brows flexed together, her mind was overworked it didn't work properly.

"What you must do first is exorcise the demon from your brother—"

"The only ways to do that would mean he _dies_, so, let me get this straight," she hissed, "you want me to let them both do? Yeah, sounds fucking fantastic."

"Yes, your brother will die, but once Inuyasha is gone his soul would go to your brother's body, and it's the mind that carries the memories, the soul only carries the person's essence, that way your brother would be whole once more." She frowned at the flexed brow, confound stare she got in return, "it's _simple_. You get rid of the demon from your brother, he dies temporarily, Inuyasha dies, and then you make his soul go to Damian's body and your brother is back from the dead. No souls have to be sold."

She allowed herself a few moments to let the thought sink in before a question wiggled its way through the haze, "how do I get one soul to… the other?"

"Oh, please," she laughed, "you know how to do that, don't you?"

For another second or two she just stared blankly before she nodded and looked over to the corner in which the psychic pointed. With her eyes widened right away she leaped up to run over and pick up the bag she had forgotten—how the _hell_ could she do that? Swiftly she dug through the bag to look make sure the essentials were still there—her hair ornament and knife. A sigh of relief let her lips.

"You may leave," the psychic waved away, "I've told you all I can."

"Where's Damian?" Kagome questioned.

"I can't say, earlier the demon wanted you to find him, now its masking its presence. It's planning something… at least one of your comrades is going to die if a skirmish starts between them and the demons from another world, you do understand that, don't you?"

She didn't bother to reply to that before she walked out to see the bothered boy walking around in a circle, an irked expression and his arms folded against his chest as he scuffed about this and that under his breath.

"_Now_ will you tell me what's going on?" He growled once he noticed her blank stare.

Who the fuck really knew all that was going on? Her mind was shut off, common sense went out the window, her heart was torn into too many directions to even be able to whisper what was the best track to follow, so she just stared as he walked up to her.

"_Kagome_," he scowled, "tell me."

Instead, she gently dropped her bag upon the ground and lifted her hands up to cup his face. Without warning, without anything, she leaned forward to press her lips to his. His eyes widened from the action, then she pulled away, that silenced him. He couldn't even think to say anything else.

So she kissed him again, that time longer, that time something gave her heart a jump start.

"Wait," Inuyasha declared as he pushed her away, "wait…"

"Why?" She whispered back, that seemed to puzzle him enough so she pulled him back, slid her hands off his face and around his neck to pull him into a deeper lip-lock session. It was fairly obvious she had the upper hand, she knew what she was doing more, she was the one that pried his lips apart to insert her tongue and make him lightly cringe from the shock.

Then he gave in, whatever was making him hesitant disappeared. He let the fire that engulfed his heart consume him as he wrapped his arms around her waist and backed her into the wooden post of the hut that kept the porch's roof up.

Why were they doing that? Why kiss? He hadn't an idea… she probably didn't have much on an inclination either but neither were complaining. She wrapped a leg around his as he began to kiss her back with full intent, her hands ran through his hair as she tugged on his lower lip to spark a small growl that vibrated from his chest to hers as his hands moved lower to her, grasped her and lifted up enough that she could wrap her legs all around his waist and pull him closer.

That was when something caught his loose attention, enough that his eyes flickered open to glance to figure out what it was. That stopped the kiss to stare up at the gleaming, flying shikigami that only meant one thing… a certain someone wanted to see him.

"Don't," Kagome whispered, weakly winning his gaze back with a pout. She leaned enough to say in a sweet hush into his sensitive ears, "stay with me."

Her words sent a shiver down his entire body but it didn't convince him fully, his golden gaze still flickered back to the shikigami. It was her second whispered request and nibble upon his ear that made his eyes shut and breathe hasten, "_staaay._"

For a while he buried his face in her chest, to inhale her sweet scent that he missed, to feel her warmth, her softness as she paid attention to his sensitive triangles.

A low, almost silent moan left his lips before she pulled his face up to kiss him once more. Their lips mingled, their tongues tangled, her hands flirted around him, and his moved around her thighs, her bum, and pressed their bodies closer.

His ear twitched.

Was there any real rhyme or reason behind why, all of a sudden, the fractured fair female gave up her determination to not do exactly what she was doing? Lips meshed and mangled together as their faces tilted and pressed to the other, hands wandered all about, up and down and back to his collar to jerk him closer to explore new regions of his mouth. It was simple. There was none.

The truth of that matter was simple; her already overloaded brain was on the verge of a breakdown. The reality was rough; she had been given hope—unabridged, high-soaring hope—only for it to be yanked away, shattered, and ripped into her. The cause was clear, her heart ached in every which way possible and the fickle thing had never been much help to start out with.

So she gave up, gave in, and shut off her battered brain, turned away from her wayward heart, and let go of the scar in her soul that destroyed hope left and did the one thing that she had been thinking about for so long—the one thing that made everything just stop. The one thing that made her live in the moment and ignore _everything else around her_.

She kissed him.

His ear twitched.

What was he doing? After all the pain she caused him, after _abandoning _him, why was he pressing his body to hers, why was he on fire from her touch, from her lips, from all of her? He felt things boil and threaten to overflow that he didn't even know existed. They broke their kiss for only a second so they could part enough for Kagome to slip off her leather jacket and be more exposed—more skin to taunt and play with.

The answer—he missed her. He. Missed. Her.

She hurt him—perhaps destroyed a part of him—but he never forgot her, he never let go of the feelings she gave him, just ignored them. He lov—no.

He wouldn't let his mind go there as his lips moved up her neck, as her body arched towards his, as her hands roamed through his mane and her lips let out a little moan all her own. He liked the feeling he got with her against him, too. It proved she was still there—perhaps she wouldn't leave again? Perhaps that was what it meant?

His ear twitched.

Their lips met again so she could take control of the kiss once more—she knew what she was doing more so than him. Even with a mind focusing on little else then all that was her—her soft skin, her sweet scent—he could still feel rage and take the time to hate whoever had taught her how to do all that she was. Whoever the bastard was that got to kiss her before him.

If he met that guy, he'd kill him.

His ear twitched.

With a grunt morphed sigh he tore away from her—and it was oh, so hard to do—to let her drop to the ground, gently, and pulled away all the way to turn around and run a hand through his disarrayed hair.

"Inu... yasha?" Kagome muttered as her brows flexed together, she hadn't much time to fret before a few familiar figures came into sight in the distance. _Ah, he heard them coming._ Kagome acknowledged as she picked up her jacket, slipped it back on, and then put her back over her shoulder.

"You are going to tell me everything, right?" Inuyasha managed to say but couldn't turn around to look at her.

_Oh... I did say I'd do that... didn't I?_ If he helped her... he'd die.

Even if it had nothing to do with saving Damian, he'd die. The demons that sought her, the demons that wanted to kill _her_, were different than the ones he was accustomed to fighting. He had too much of a conscious, he couldn't do it. But...

But if he died... Damian would be saved. Her heart sank at the thought for so many reasons—it was betrayal to Inuyasha but she'd be betraying Damian if she didn't do everything in her power to save him.

If the tables were turned, if Damian loved some dearly—more than his own life—but had to sacrifice her in order to save Kagome's life, would he?

Without a doubt.

And she _did_ love Damian, he was her brother, her blood, her everything for three long years. For three years while her father brought her some joy, mostly misery with his stern stances and difficult to reach heart, her brother was there to make her laugh and smile. Her brother was _her brother_—how could she deny him? How could she turn her back on him the very moment he needed her most? _How_? For Inuyasha, for a man she did love—there was no use in denying that—but... he wasn't blood. She loved them both... but only one was blood. Only one was her _brother_.

Family trumped everything.

"Yes," she meekly murmured just in time, their companions came into the clearing. She'd tell him everything... she'd let him help, and if he died along the way then... well, she'd save Damian.

"Good," Inuyasha mumbled back before Tamako rushed up towards him, "hey."

"You shouldn't wander off without telling someone, Inuyasha!" She scolded with a smack to his upper arm, "we were worried when we noticed you two were gone."

"Sorry," he muttered with a glance away. He couldn't look at her... not then. He was a fuck-up, a real dog. Could he be loyal to any women? When it came to Kagome there was Kikyou, when it came to Kikyou there was Kagome, when it came to Tamako there was both.

"What are you two doing back here?" Miroku inquired to Kagome as he walked up to her, to which she just shook her head.

Inuyasha's gaze flickered up to the sky, to see the shikigami that had been trying to gain his attention all the time, "I gotta go."

"Right," Tamako sighed as her eyes followed his. "Come back soon...?"

"I will," he assured before he leaped off to follow the sky-serpent somewhere.

"What's going on? Why did you two come here again?" Sango asked as she folded her arms and gave Kagome a peculiar look, "you _obviously_ don't like psychics so why return to one? What good—?"

"You know what, Sango?" Kagome snapped, "leave me alone! It's one thing after another with you! I'm sorry I left without a goodbye, I'm sorry I was gone for three years but, hey, newsflashes! I have a completely separate life from the one I have here! Other things matter to me, too! You've been! You've been such a! You've been such a bitch since I returned!

"I don't get it, what exactly is it that you think I've done to _you_ in particular that deserves such a rude attitude in response, huh? Shippou's forgiven me! Miroku's forgiven me! Hell, even _Inuyasha_—who I obviously hurt far more!—treats me better! I'm sick of you! Leave me the alone or go to hell, either way I don't want to deal with you anymore!"

Oh, to rant felt so good. With a sigh she spun around and strutted off to leave the stunned Sango, traumatized Tamako, and mesmerized Miroku behind. She needed time.

Time to think…

x-•°•°•-x

Air gasped in and out of her lungs in accordance with the sobs that shook her. She didn't even notice the mild-tempered monk walk up beside her to sit down.

"Kagome," Miroku whispered as he placed a hand on her shoulder, "what's wrong?"

She just shook her head.

"I would ask if it has something to do with Inuyasha going to see Kikyou but… you didn't react like this last time. I would wonder if it has anything to do with what you said to Sango but… whatever is bothering you is _why_ you exploded, hm? Or… does it have to do with why your brother is suddenly gone?"

To that, she nodded before she thrust herself onto him, wrapping her arms around his neck to cry into his shoulder. For a moment he was at a loss of what he should do, but then he thought better of it and wrapped his arms gently around her to allow her all the time she needed until she could sniffle away the tears and form words once more.

"I hate crying, I don't cry as much as I used to… not over stupid things anymore," she weakly explained as she whipped her eyes clear.

"Kagome, there is no shame in crying," Miroku assured.

"You are just trying to make me feel better," less weak—wasn't that what crying was _always_ attached to? What strong person shed tears?

"No, it's true," he kept up as he brushed a few stray tears away from her cheek, "I cry sometimes."

"Sure you do," she muttered.

"I do. The day Michio was born, for joy, the day Mio died, for sorrow, at night when I was certain my death would come soon and I would be leaving Michio alone, for fear."

"Thank you," she whispered with a weak smile.

"Will you tell me what is the matter? Where is your brother…?"

"I…"

"What is the matter, what is going on?"

She couldn't tell Miroku so she pressed her lips. He was one person she was positive she could never allow to be harmed while helping her, "I love you, Miroku," she murmured, "like a brother."

He smiled at that, but couldn't think what relevance that had—she was trying to avoid the situation. "I care a great deal for you, as well, like the younger sister I never had. That is why your well-being—"

"I love you, so I won't tell you what's going on," she stated simply. "I…" she was the downfall of her own blood, the boy that was truly her brother, so how could she risk the same for Miroku?

Yet she could risk Inuyasha…? Would she really?

"I want you to be safe, I want you to be… safe," she muttered as her eyes shifted away. He sighed and nodded, not willing to argue with a clearly disturbed damsel; instead he just lingered around as she stared, comatose around.

She felt as if she was in a coma for the two days the followed without a word from a certain hanyou.

But, on the bright side, she knew what she had to do and accepted it the best she could.

There was no black and white answer, nothing would make her feel better, neither would give her full and complete peace but one would make it OK… sort of.

x-•°•°•-x

Was it vindictive? Maybe. Was it the right thing to do? Perhaps. Should she have without consulting a hanyou that had been absent for two days straight? Probably not. Did she anyway?

Yep.

She requested some time alone with Tamako, avoiding Sango at all costs—once her senses came back to her even a small bit she realized maybe that shouting wasn't her best idea. So they walked together away from the camp to have a private conversation.

"If you are worried about Inuyasha," Tamako began, "I am too… he usually doesn't stay away this long. If it goes by another day, we have to find him."

"I agree," she muttered, if she hadn't lost track of time in her comatose state she would have insisted they do so sooner but her mind had finally settled down enough for her grasp reality once more and realized how many days had passed. "I think we should go find him tonight, actually."

"I would like that," Tamako sighed with relief, "if you can convince Miroku-sama—"

"I can, no worries there," she assured as she stopped their walk to turn and look Tamako in the eyes. "I need to tell you something."

"I assumed so," Tamako smiled weakly, "what…?"

"I," she sighed heavily as she looked away then back, "suppose I lied to you earlier."

"About…?"

"That whole not going to try and win Inuyasha's affections back… I didn't necessarily mean to, but…"

"What?" Tamako asked as her brows flexed together.

"I… might have kissed him," she murmured and cringed at the blank look she received before the narrowed eyes.

"You mean about the _curse_?"

"Nope," she muttered.

"Wh… when?"

"The other night," she nodded, "I was kinda stressed and then… it seemed like a good idea at the time."

"And… he… did what?"

Kissed her back, a _lot_, but did she need to add that? No. "Noticed the shikigami," that was the truth, though he ignored it upon her request.

Tamako nodded some before she took a sharp breath in and looked away, "I see."

"I don't know if I could honestly say I won't try to do it again…" she knew that question was to come.

"Are you going to stay in this world, this time, or return to yours?" Tamako inquired, "do you plan to not leave him again? Can you admit you love him? That you don't want to stay or might you hurt him again? _I'm_ staying. _I'm_ not leaving this world. _I'm_ here. _I_ love him. _I_ wouldn't abandon him. So… why do you want to ruin that? Why do you want to hurt him again?"

That stung, but it was true, did she have a good answer to that? No.

Could she say she wanted the best in the world for Inuyasha, that she would never hurt him again, that she could place him above anything else in her world like Tamako? No, no, no and more no.

"I don't know," was all Kagome could say in return with a shrug. To that, Tamako just pressed her lips together and exhaled sharply before turning around and walking away.

Really… Kagome would have felt better if the girl had slapped her instead of giving her such a cold, disappointed, distaste stare before she turned away to walk off.

x-•°•°•-x

That handsome, happy looking man from the future whose body was out of his own control and in that of a deadly yet carefree demon walked through the just blooming flower field to find a smiling, giggling, girl who turned her head to look up at him when he was too close—her two headed dragon pet showed him how displeased they were of his presence. But all it took was a swift, flickering, glare to it to silence its growl and make it step away.

Then his peaceful, smiling, façade was put back on as he knelt down before the young girl, "hello, what is your name?"

"Rin, what is your name?" She replied with a tilt of her head, "my lord is not going to be happy when he returns if he sees Rin talking to a stranger."

"But I'm a friendly stranger," he assured as he picked a flower and handed it to her so she could finish her crown she was creating, "do you remember Kagome-san?"

"My lord's brother's friend," she responded, "I like her! She was very nice to Rin, but she left."

"She's back," he whispered, "you can trust her, can't you?"

"Oh, yes, Kagome-san is very helpful and kind!"

"Then you can trust me, I'm her older brother, Damian."

"Damian," Rin repeated, "what an odd name."

"To match my funny clothes," he teased as he pulled on his blue collar, which won him a giggle, "tell me about this person you call your lord."

"Lord Sesshomaru!" Rin chimed, "oh, mi'lord is a great demon, very powerful, and amazing! He is so kind to Rin and has been for many years now, he saved Rin."

"It sounds like Rin loves lord Sesshomaru very much," Damian coaxed, "is that it?"

She just blushed and looked away trying to hide her smile.

"Some think he is cold," Rin continued meekly, "that Lord Sesshomaru is not a nice person but he is… I just think he is sad sometimes."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, Rin thinks that Lord Sesshomaru misses his father and because he is not around anymore, that they no longer can talk, that he is not happy. They were together for a very long time because Lord Sesshomaru is immortal, so he is very old."

"Oh, is that so? Tell me, Rin-chan, what would you do to make him happy?"

"Anything!"

"Anything?" Damian drew out.

"Anything!" Rin nodded.

"I can make Lord Sesshomaru's wish come true, then, but it will be at a price."

"How would you be able to do that?"

"Just true me," he winked, "but you'll have to do me a favor in the future, alright?"

"Alright," if it made her lord happy, she'd do anything.

"Then give me your hand," he held his out and waited for her to reluctantly do so, so they could shake.

"Ow!" Rin whined once he let go to see a prick of blood.

"It's alright," Damian assured as he lifted his hand up to lick away the few drops of her blood that was upon his hand, "it's just what is needed to seal the deal. I will see you soon, Rin-chan."

"Rin's confused…" she murmured as she watched the stranger walk away, just in the nick of time, too. Her lord return with Jaken to retrieve her.

"What is the matter, Rin?" Sesshomaru inquired when he saw the weary look she gave in the direction of which Damian left.

"Nothing," she replied as she shrugged, there was no need to worry her loved lord over it, anyway.

**{~**¤°•.¤°•.¤°•.¤°•.¤°•.**~}**

_Swirling souls of the damned weaved around, avoiding being torn apart over and over again to feel the agony no body to endure. Through the cries of pain that no mortal could hear a sight wandered around until the proper one was locked and ripped out of its spot up, up, up to the light that had been long forgotten._

_All while another petal perished._

* * *

**A/N**: OK, before people get all upset and rant. Take a moment. Stop. Think about it. Kagome is obviously on an emotional overload, I tried to convey that the best I could. And, if you haven't figured this much out on your own, blood v. water is kind of a theme here. And as a realist myself (I suppose some would say pessimist) I think that, whether she commits to following it through or not, she would pick her brother. He is blood, he is her _brother. _If you have a brother I'm certain you'd understand, if not agree. Yes, she loves Inuyasha and their love is eternal and they are meant to be and blah blah blah-all that lovely fairytale stuff. You'll just have to wait and see what happens, until then, try to understand.

**Thank you for all the reviews! Really, it's wonderful. I can't tell you how happy I am :)**

_**Marigold**: affection, pain and grief (I don't think I've picked one that sums up the chapter so well yet, I'm rather proud of myself)_


	12. Black Rose

†**{ A** **R**_ose_ by **A**_ny_ **O**_ther _**N**_ame_…** }**†**  
x{ **_1_**2: B**_lack _**R**_ose_**}x  
**-•°•°•-

* * *

Groggily, the girl given to grief awoke at dawn tired of sleeping—the dreams it brought, the pain that transcended even slumber. Quietly, she migrated from camp to wash up at the nearby spring in silence, in peace, brought to her in a fleeting moment of thoughtlessness.

_Should I run?_ Passed through her mind after it turned back on, should she leave that very moment and abandon her friends once more? It would be for their own good, Inuyasha wasn't there to stop her—_Inuyasha_ wasn't there. That was the very reason that kept her from leaving like a part of her yearned to, what had happened that would keep him away for three days? The threat of all the curses that could be placed on him was often echoed in her mind, had something happened to him?

She shook her head of the thought and looked down to the water while she slid her clothes back on to see her frail reflection in the rippling water. Her hands shook as she slapped the water the break the mirror image, she didn't want to see it—she didn't want to look at herself.

All the wrongs she had committed… all she'd do. _Unforgivable._

Her dripping hand rose up to whip away the prospect of tears. She was done crying for herself, for her losses, for everything. She was done—though, that was easier said than…

"Sango," Kagome gasped when turned around to see the slayer simply standing there.

"Kagome," she replied before her mahogany gaze moved away, "about the other day, about what you—"

"I was in a bad mood, sorry," it was easier to apologize then to fight about whether she was right or not.

"No," Sango sighed, "I think… you were right."

"I… was?" Kagome cautiously coaxed with a cocked brow.

With a nod Sango continued, "I have been unjustly cruel towards you since your return. I suppose," she sighed once more as she looked to the side, "it was easier for me to blame you then it was for me to acknowledge it's my own fault."

"Alright," she wearily replied, "your own fault for what…?"

To that, Sango shook her head and simply apologized once more before returning to camp. If she cared a bit more, if her mind was a little less full of other concerns, she might have actually took a moment to ponder and perhaps would have come up to the answer but she didn't, she hadn't the inclination to do so… or else she would have seen how alike they were. How she had done the exact same thing.

She gave Sango a few minutes head start so they that would not run into one another before they reached the camp, a small mass upon her heavily weighed shoulders was lifted upon return. An equally tiny smile crept up her lips when she saw Inuyasha was there, talking to Tamako, but just like that it disappeared.

He had the oddest expression upon his serious façade, his brows were bent in anger, his whole body was tense, but his eyes told a different story—sorrow, Kagome knew that look well, it was the same that stared back at her each time she looked upon her own reflection.

Had Tamako told Inuyasha what they had talked about? Was he upset she had told Tamako without consulting him first? He had a right to be, "Inuyasha?"

That won her the cruelest glare from the hanyou, confirming her suspicions, but the watery eyed attention Tamako gave her conflicted with it—wouldn't she be mad, too, if that was the topic of conversation? Instead, Tamako placed a hand on Inuyasha's upper arm to get him to look back at her, "Inuyasha, it'll… be alright."

The crack in her usually cheerful voice softened his golden gaze; the tears that trickled down her cheek even loosened his rigid stance, his arms wrapped around her when she threw herself at him, too.

_Did I miss something?_ Kagome wondered as her hazels shifted to a mournful monk.

"Kikyou-sama has passed… for the final time," he explained.

Three years ago, she would have been sad to hear that, three years ago, she would not have felt relief, three years ago, she would have not been such a terrible person—but there was no changing that. _Oh, well._

"What happened?" She whispered as she took a step closer to Miroku, "is that what took Inuyasha so long?"

"Yes, it would appear so," Miroku murmured, "he hasn't told anyone yet, he just arrived to tell Tamako that Kikyou was dead, for the last time."

"I would have figured the remainder of my soul that kept her walking would have returned to me," she would have supposed that she'd have known Kikyou died the moment it happened.

Miroku merely shrugged, "I don't know."

The three spectators only stood around to stare for a short while longer before they decided to leave the two alone to grieve.

_I would have never guessed Tamako was so close to her,_ Kagome thought.

x-•°•°•-x

She sat in solitude with her back to the bark of a tree to stare at her hands, it was not apparent, but to her, each time to looked at them, she could see the blood that drenched them. _So much_…

A crackle to her left caught her attention, without hesitation to glanced over to see a heated hanyou who's narrow glare could still give her the chills. Gradually, she got up before inquiring, "Inuyasha?"

"You told me not to go," he growled as he stomped over to take her by the arms harshly and push her against the tree, "if I hadn't listened to you I might have been in time to save her! But no! I had to listen to you!"

_The shikigami_… she remembered as her hazels avoided his glare.

"This is what you wanted, isn't it?" He snarled as he shook her, "you've always hated Kikyou! You think all your problems are her fault, right?"

Yes. But she didn't dare tell him that.

"I'm going to kill Naraku," he scowled as he pushed her away and almost to the ground, "I don't want to have to deal with _your_ problems so get lost, Kagome! Ever since you've come back we haven't had a single sign from Naraku! The one time we did, when _Kikyou_ gave us a lead, you made us do something else! Go back to your own time! Go find your possessed brother! I don't care, but I don't want you around!"

He didn't bother to wait for a reply; he turned and stomped off instead.

He might not have meant it, he had just lost someone he loved, so perhaps if she had given him a day or two to cool down then he would have reconsidered, he would have taken it back, but she didn't… because he gave her the answer she had been in search of. Should she stay or should she go?

x-•°•°•-x

The atmosphere was thick with a poisonous purple fog that swarmed around the hidden castle that the blithe, smiling man crept closer to with each step, his eyes shut, ignoring the darkness that lurked around him as he stepped up the small set of stairs to stand at the door that he opened without much effort.

"Who are you?" A hiss retorted.

"My name is of no importance to you," he replied once he bothered to open his orbs to see the scowling, somber soul that sat at a table across the room, his arm resting upon his raised knee.

"How did you get in here?" The red-eyed, devilishly handsome demon-to-be inquired as he cautiously watched the strangely clothed man walk up to sit across from him, as if he hadn't a care in the world, as if he didn't know the dangers of being around the venomous, tricky, jewel shard bearing, monster.

"Through the door," he grinned, "obviously." Oh, how the man relished in the glare he received for his response. "I believe we have a thing or two in common, I was thinking we should work together."

"I have no need for a human."

"Human, right," he chuckled, "you want a group that gathers around a certain inu-hanyou dead, am I right? I can deliver that to you."

"Is that so?" The spider-scarred man muttered, "and why would you do that?"

"For fun," he shrugged, "I have no need for any of them, nor the jewel shards. I don't care for such a needless object."

"What do you expect in return?"

"I would like you to put particular pressure on the pretty reincarnation of a certain priestess you recently killed, _again_," he explained as he began to fiddle with the cup upon the table.

"Kagome?" Naraku guessed, "she has returned?"

"She has," Damian nodded, "do what you want with her, just don't kill her. From what I gather, you are marvelous at breaking spirits. Once you are done doing whatever it is you do, give her to me. I'll deliver the group, with all the jewel shards, to you in return."

"And why should I believe you can do such a thing?"

"Why not? Don't I look harmless? You want Kagome and her jewel shards anyway, so why not just agree to this?"

That was the truth; the sick not-yet-full-demon did yearn for the shards that had been denied him for so long, "fine."

"Great," Damian chimed as he held out his hand, "well, give me your hand; we have to seal the deal with a shake. It's a custom I like."

With a wryly lifted brow Naraku lifted his hand to take the man's, he did not flinch at the sharp jab he felt but retracted his hand swiftly instead to look at the ever so small puncture that swelled with a bubble of blood, "what did you do?"

"Nothing, nothing," Damian assured as he lifted his hand up to lick away the drop of blood and rose up to walk to the door, "until next time."

"What did you do?" Naraku bellowed again. The man had the gall to ignore him and walked out, with a growl he arose to throw open the door with ever intent of killing the man that would be standing on the other side. The only problem was that there was no one then… he had vanished.

He did not know what the man's plan was; he didn't not truly care, either. _He_ was Naraku, _he_ was the wily one that did the double-crossing, so he would carry out his part of the agreement. He would find Kagome, he would break her, and he would enjoy every moment of it. He'd take the jewel shards she had and summon the man to retrieve his prize in return for the dead corpse of the group that always got in Naraku's way, along with all the jewel shards that they possessed.

Once the stranger arrived, he'd kill him and keep Kagome for himself. She was certain to be of some interest, at least for a while, then she could die, just like her predecessor, the wicked man could not help but grin at the prospect.

x-•°•°•-x

She ventured deeper into the foggy forest to get farther away from the group she would leave again—this time it couldn't really be called abandonment, could it? She had been _asked_ to leave; she was just respecting Inuyasha's wishes. It was for the best, probably.

_I have no idea what I'm going to do, though,_ Kagome sighed as she stepped over more roots, ducked below more branches, and pushed more vegetation out of her way.

A shifting sound caught her attention so for a moment she paused to wait to see if she would hear it once more, her hazels wondered about all the while, but nothing was her reply so she carried on.

_I'm probably going to get myself killed_, she lamented as she lifted her hand to her aching chest. But what other choice did she have—so many… too many. That was when another crackling crawl caught her interest and she stopped once more, "what _is_ that?"

No sooner had the words left her lips before roots grasped her ankles to yank her upon the forest floor and tug her through the leaves and fog, she hadn't the time to think to scream, let alone carry out the action before it pulled her off the ground and up to a particularly gruesome appearing, black, dead, giant tree which the roots were attached to.

"What the…?" She muttered before more roots combined with branches reached out to consume her. "Hey! Stop!" She tried to struggle but there were too many, at least they were not trying to puncture her but merely wrap around every inch of her—to create a cocoon.

Once the black bark had covered every part of her no light, no sound, no anything could creep in. What was going on? A glimpse appeared somewhere, she could see something but that something made no sense. It was her, standing in an alleyway, staring dumbfounded, shocked, almost appalled at her father.

"This isn't possible," she retorted, "this isn't… you aren't…"

"I expected this reaction, if you'd like we could go to the hospital and get a paternity test done."

A weak humorless laugh left her lips as she folded her arms, "wha... what the _hell_? Are you… coming home or something?"

"No, by no means is your mother, grandfather, or brother to know I'm not dead. Just you."

Her brows furrowed together automatically, "you think I'm not going to tell them?"

"Truthfully? You won't be staying long enough to," her father simply replied.

Stunned, she questioned, "what… are you talking about?"

"Let me take you out to eat, I'll explain everything over dinner, I promise," he motioned for her to follow him and she wearily seemed to obey before everything blurred forward only to settle down once they were sitting across each other at a table.

_I remember that…_

"Demons exist," her father began as he lifted his cup of coffee to take a sip, "they are bodiless creatures from the depths of hell that's sole goal is to open a portal between there and this world. They wish to take over; they hate humans and toy with us constantly."

"You… no," was her only reply.

"Yes," he nodded as his jaded eyes shifted up to her, "there is a movement in retaliation to them, a human resistance front. I am part of it. That is why I had to leave you all. I could not take the risk of the demons that I was trying to destroy figuring out I had a family and coming after you, your brother, your mother or anyone else I love.

"Kagome, I know you have strong spiritual powers; I knew the moment you were born. I knew it… and I had to leave to protect you from that but now… Kagome, I need you. I need your power. You have no idea how important you are."

"What?" She murmured.

"I want no one else involved, your brother doesn't share the power you have, your mother neither."

"I don't…"

"Yes," he coaxed before lifting his cup of coffee up to his lips to take the final sip—then everything swirled into a mesh into the darkness.

_He didn't explain that very well, it took him showing me an exorcism for me to believe him fully… _

Everything settled down to show her, her father, Damian, and a light haired, fair skinned, girl within a hotel room.

"What?" Kagome gawked, "_what?"_

"I know this is hard," her father began as he placed a hand on her shoulder, "but I was married before I met your mother."

"You cheated?" She hissed as she knocked his hand away to step back.

"No," he assured, "she passed away, I've been involved in the resistance since I was young, I met her because of it and she died… a demon killed her."

"So, you abandoned them?" Kagome questioned as she motioned to the two immobile siblings that stood a distance away.

"I left them with someone who was not involved in the resistance so that they could be safe," he explained, "no need to be so upset, they understand."

"We do," the girl asserted with a smile, "father was only trying to protect us."

"My name is Damian," the boy began as he held out his hand for hers, "I'd like us to become good friends, at the very least."

She didn't take his hand, but instead just stared in utter confusion, with a hint of disgust, at the boy.

_I was rude to them at first… they understood, they forgave me. Dad, you just had a way about you. Somehow, no matter what you did, everyone forgave you. Damian and Lilith should have hated you for what you did, for abandoning them to start a new family. I should have hated you for leaving us, too. But I didn't. They didn't… until…_

The image became clear only for a flicker fleeting moment for her father to request, "say it." For her to murmur "I will" before he handed her the unique knife. Then another shaky image shifted to a scene she'd never forget.

"Dad?" She murmured with an uneven breath as she backed against the wall, "dad…?"

The way his emerald eyes glared at her wasn't proper, the way his wrinkled forehead contorted before he slammed his hand against the wall, right next to her head, wasn't right either. She jumped, shut her eyes, and pressed her lips together.

She had the knife in its holder upon her hip, she knew what was wrong, she had had her suspicions for a few days—he hadn't been acting right, too happy, too carefree. Her father was a serious man, that feature rarely faltered. With a shaky breath as grasped the knife and pulled it out but she made the mistake of opening her eyes to meet with her father's eyes.

She couldn't. She _couldn't_.

"Dear daddy," he pouted, "can't hurt him, can you?"

No, she couldn't, not even when his hands grasped around her neck but a burst caught both of their attentions before anything could happen.

"Kagome!" Damian shouted after he burst in through the door into the dark room, "get away from her!"

With a grand grin her father stepped away so that Damian could come in between them, instantly, he took the knife from her unsteady hand but before he could thrust it his arm was taken into both of hers, "Damian, no!"

"Kagome, he's possessed, there's nothing—"

"Please don't! You don't know that! There could be a way!" She begged as she tightened her hold on his arm, "_please_!"

His hand lowered and loosened his hold on the knife as he looked to his watery eyed half-sister, he parted his lips to say something in reply but was slammed by an assault to fly across the room and hit the wall before he could.

"Damian!" She screamed.

"I knew I could depend on you, Ka-go-me," her father cooed as he took a step forward, "you are such a bleeding heart, you'd never hurt your daddy."

There was no time to reply to that before his callous, large, hands grasped around her neck to squeeze, she tried to gasp for air, to claw at his hand but nothing could find its way out. Her eyes were shutting, the world was going black, but then there was something that caught her attention—a wide-eyed, painful expression on her father's face, and grasp slipped away.

A glow flowed across his body then burst out as he fell to his knees then sideways to the ground.

"Dad!" Kagome screamed as her teary eyes locked upon the knife that had been thrust into his back then to the fair-haired girl that stood behind the fallen body. "Li-Lilith! _How_ could you!"

"Oh, whatever!" She shrieked, "that's what he wanted! Remember? He made all of us promise, just because _you_ were too weak, because _you_ could make Damian weak doesn't mean I would!"

"Dad," Kagome whimpered as she dropped to her knees, "dad…"

"Oh, boo-hoo," Lilith scowled, "you are useless! Oh, Kagome this and Kagome that! She's so important! Her spiritual power will save us all! _She's_ the one that will be able to seal off the demons from this world! Kagome! Kagome! Kagome! Look at you!" She screamed at her, "you are a pussy! You are weak! You can't even do the _one_ thing that our father asked of you! But, hell! What's it matter? You're the god child, you could do nothing wrong in his eyes!"

"Lilith," Damian murmured as he weakly got off the ground, "stop…"

"Shut up! She's poisoned you, too! She'll be the death of you, Damian! She makes you do the stupidest things, and for what?" Lilith hissed as she pressed her hands to her chest, "I don't! God, Damian! I'm your sister! Your full-blood sister!"

Everything shattered and faded to black.

_I never knew how much Lilith resented me until then… how much she hated me. I never knew she could tell I was our father's favorite. I never knew… I deserve it. I am weak. I've always been… if only I was more like Lilith. If only I was stronger. If only I could make the hard decisions like she could, she _always _could. Without hesitation, she took the knife and stabbed dad just like he wanted._

_He would have been proud of her. _

The shards shifted around to form another colorful picture of Kagome rushing through a train with Damian by her side; he held her hand in his as he ran out of the train to pull her after. Through a little European town and to a church, hurried words, orders, declarations, promises, then he pushed her into her hiding place.

She watched him die again… and again, and again—it repeated and rewound in front of her eyes constantly.

_I could have done something! But I was paralyzed… if I were Lilith; I wouldn't have let that happen. _

_But… but I get it. I understand what I have to do… if Damian were to die in the future again, in our world, than his soul would go to hell. If I were to kill the demon inside of him while his soul is there it would be ripped out and taken down to the fiery pit with it. That's how it always goes… but if he dies here, his soul won't go down because his soul _is_ here just in another's body… In Inuyasha's…_

_I don't know what to do… Dad, you never prepared me for this._

_You abandoned me. I don't want to be a part of this. I don't want to have to deal with all of this. I don't want to have this choice. I don't want to do this!_

_I wish I were never born into this! _

_I want to die… I won't have to choose then… I'll die?_

A tore shook the cocoon she was locked in but she didn't notice, not until the third that break the branches. Another burst broke through them finally and she came toppling out to fall into the strong arms of a still not-to-friendly hanyou, once he feet touched the ground he proved that by dropping her promptly.

"What…?" Kagome muttered as she pushed herself up.

"Are you alright?" Miroku inquired as he knelt down beside her, "we sensed a ward of demons and came to find Naraku's bugs and a bunch of low-level demons swarming around."

"What happened?" Sango asked as she squatted down, "are you hurt?"

"I…" she murmured with a shake of her head, "no? I don't think I am…"

"You shouldn't have wandered so far away without by yourself," Miroku asserted as he helped her to her feet, "we were worried."

_Inuyasha didn't tell them?_ But then again, why would he?

"Naraku seems to want you," Tamako meekly said, not out of any timid inclination but reluctance to speak or her even look, "so you shouldn't go far."

"Fucking Naraku, I'll rip him to shreds," Inuyasha growled, earning Tamako's full attention, "if she can be bait let's do that."

"Inuyasha, I know you are hurting still," Tamako sighed as she took his hands gently into hers, "but that's not the right way to go about this."

"Keh," he jerked away and walked off without another word.

_Anger is a part of coping,_ Kagome thought with a sigh, _but what use is mourning over someone who is already dead? _

If only she understood the hypocrisy in her way of thinking...

x-•°•°•-x

"Kagome," Sango started as she sat down next to the silent girl upon the hill side of their camp, "can we talk?"

"Why not?" She murmured, what did it matter?

"I… want to apologize—"

"Already did," she muttered, "don't worry about it. Honestly." She didn't have enough space left to care.

"Once you left," Sango began anyway as she wrapped her arms around her legs, "everything changed so much… I guess a part of me decided it was easier to blame you for all that. Inuyasha was never the same… then Rensei appeared all of a sudden to ask for my hand once more and… then Miroku had Michio… everything changed. I just… missed how somethings were. I always thought _what if _Kagome didn't leave? Wouldn't everything be as it was?"

"Things were difficult," she sighed, "but you always managed to bring light to the bad situations. We were all happy in our own ways…"

"What are you saying?" Kagome mumbled, for the first time she let her hazels shift to look at her former friend, "I thought you _loved_ Rensei?"

"I do… but…"

"That doesn't mean you don't love Miroku."

She meekly nodded at that, "it was my father's wish for me to be with Rensei. Rensei wants to build our village back and… I don't know. He's kind to me, he loves me; I've known him my whole life. Miroku found happiness with Mio and has Michio now."

"Miroku is madly in loves you still," she blurted, shocking Sango, "he just thinks Rensei is best for you so he's not trying to fight for you. I think Rensei is handsome and all but he seems sort of stupid."

"He isn't the brightest person," Sango admitted with a sigh.

"Miroku is very handsome, smart, and obviously would make a good father. If you can raise Michio…" another woman's child, she understood how that might be difficult. "Then I think you should go for Miroku."

"Of course you do," Sango smiled, "because then it would be like the old times."

"Right, I liked the old times best, too, it was simpler then. Black and white, I wanted this and this and this while I hated this and that. I knew what I had to do, collect jewel shards and kill Naraku, hopefully," she laughed lightly, "graduate from high school with decent marks."

"Yeah," Sango sighed, "easier days…"

She leaned sideways enough for her head to rest upon Sango's shoulders, she could understand wanting to blame someone else for all her—that's when her mind stopped for a moment.

_I can _really_ understand that,_ she realized. Ever since a psychic that her father took her many years ago told her that she had been cursed since one of her earlier lives, that sorrows would follow because of that, she decided every tragic event that trailed that meeting was Kikyou's fault. It was easier.

Not her own indecision, not her own faults, not her father's, not her brother's, not even her sister's but Kikyou's—someone she could distant herself from. Someone that she already was inclined to dislike.

"I forgive you," she whispered to Sango, "I really do…"

She had done the same thing, after all.

x-•°•°•-x

"My dear, valued, mystic," Damian called out as he walked up to the cave high in the mountain side were a maiden awaited for him with a warm smile, "I need a favor."

"Another?" She cooed when she took her final step to meet her, "well, with that smile, how can I say no?"

"You know I come to you because you are so pretty and work so well."

"You know just how to flatter a girl. What do you want?"

His grin only grew at that…

x-•°•°•-x

"This world is so odd," Damian declared as he wandered around her lair, picking up odd objects here and there to examine with furrowed brows, "but it has some nifty tricks that are dead in my time."

"You say the oddest things, my love," the mystic replied while she toiled away at his requested task, "done!"

"Marvelous," he applauded before he turned around to walk over to her from behind to place his hands upon his shoulders, which she promptly covered with her own, "you have no idea how happy you've made me."

"Will you tell me your name, now?" She whispered as she leaned into him, her body all wanton. "I've only known you for a short while and yet you've already stolen my heart, I think I deserve a name."

"Stolen your heart?" He repeated slowly before her eyes jerked open and mouth ajar as he shoved his hand through her chest to rip out said organ, "like that?"

"Ho... w," was her final, incomplete statement before her body fell to the ground, though blood continued to gush out of her she was dead in a mere moment.

"You've done well, but I'm bored of you," he murmured as he stepped over her to look at her creation, "and you, my dear, are missing a piece, but don't worry, I'll make you complete. We are going to have so much fun, you and I… I love dolls to play with, and you'll help me make Kagome into my doll, won't you? I'm going to throw her soul in the deepest level of hell, in a cage where I can lock it away forever, then open the final portal between hell and the living world. The resistance won't be able to stop me."

With a grin he turned his attention to the heart to blow a blue wind upon it so it would beat once more, "that's more like it. Now the fun will start…"

**{~**¤°•.¤°•.¤°•.¤°•.¤°•.**~}**

_Its crystal container glowed a shimmer blue as the rose inside lost another petal to the endless, ebony abyss._

* * *

**Black Rose**: death hatred, farewell, death of old habits, _rebirth_


	13. Blue Rose

†**{ A** **R**_ose_ by **A**_ny_ **O**_ther _**N**_ame_…** }**†**  
x{ **_1_**3: B**_lue _**R**_ose_**}x  
**-•°•°•-

Seven silent days sped by on their trek through the east in search of _any_ sign of Naraku, the only one they received was a horde of demons here and there attacking them but nothing serious, nothing they couldn't handle, so why? Why did they keep coming when Naraku knew they could kill them? Was he trying to tire them? It might have worked, if rage didn't course through the always hot-headed hanyou's veins so much so that he had an unlimited supply of energy. For a while, it seemed that destroying demons made him feel better but after a few hushed hours the anger arose again.

Not a single word was spared for her from his lips, he barely looked at her—did it hurt? Did she still look that much like Kikyou? Or, did he simply blame her fully for it? If she had not kissed him, if she had not kept him from following the shikigami would he have been able to save her? Who knew, she did grasp that he probably thought that and… then, what she did was unforgivable.

Upon a bleak night with a moonless sky they all sat together around the fire, anxiously awaiting for the next day, when their strongest companion would have all his power back, Kagome smacked her neck to free herself of the irritation of a bug-bite only to hear a familiar moan as the flattened flea floated down to the grass.

"Myoga," Inuyasha grunted, "what are you doing?"

"Mi'lord!" He declared as he popped back up to jump onto his shoulders, "I have come bearing grave news! There have been some very strange occurrences happening in the west, I think you need to go there."

"And why is that? Is it Naraku related?" Inuyasha sped.

"I'm not sure, but… there are rumors that…"

"_That_, spit it out or I'm going to be the one to squash you," Inuyasha growled as he grasped the flee in-between his thumb and index finger.

"Inuyasha," Tamako sighed, "be calm."

"Yes, mi'lord, listen to Tamako-sama," Myoga requested.

"_Tell_ me."

"Rumors has it that," Myoga sped only to stop, "that…"

"Myoga, you are asking for it," Sango warned.

"This is hard for me to say," Myoga sighed, "people are saying that… your father has arisen from death and is trying to take back the west."

"What?" Inuyasha murmured as he cocked his brow, "who is saying that?"

"A lot of demons that knew your father… so I think that once the new moon has passed you should go and see what all the talk is about. I can't… your father must be… I can't imagine he is alive."

"Fine," Inuyasha muttered as he dropped him, "we'll head west tomorrow at dawn, so let's just all go to sleep."

"You say that but you never sleep on moonless night," Tamako pouted, "I'll sleep when you do."

"Keh," Inuyasha murmured.

And that was the only lightly lovey-dovey thing Kagome could take so she took up his advice and tried to sleep. Failed miserably, but tried all the same.

x-•°•°•-x

It was a two days journey to the west, those two days only Sango and Miroku spoke to her, not once had Tamako or Inuyasha said a single word, neither really gave her a glance either. It was pleasant, though, to have her old friend speaking to her and Miroku, too. Out of light curiosity she tried to pay heed if the two were acting any different yet she never caught a sign, but she really had plenty of other things to worry about...

That was when a scent caught Inuyasha's attention and they rushed off, Miroku running, Tamako on his back, and Sango with Kagome upon Kirara as they sped to the origin. There lied a grand dog demon tearing apart a horde of demons to leave a bloody trail behind. They must have arrived at end of the battle because in a few moments he transformed into a human form, long tresses of silver, golden orbs, violet strips on his cheeks, a crescent moon on his forehead, and amour over his kimono - a man as handsome as could be, too.

"He looks a little like you and a lot like Sesshomaru," Tamako commented in a murmur, "is that what your father looks like?"

"I don't know, I've never seen the guy, he died when I was just a baby," Inuyasha replied as he gently set her down.

"That's mi'lord!" Myoga gasped, "how can that be?"

"It's a trick," Inuyasha guessed, "Naraku's probably behind it. Let's go." He didn't wait for them to reply before he leaped down to land in front of the stranger, his hand ready on his sword's handle. "Who are you?"

To that, the demon cocked a brow, "who are you?"

"I asked you first," Inuyasha growled.

"How can this be?" The man mused as his confused gaze washed over the boy, "you share my scent yet… that cannot be possible. You are a hanyou."

"Mi'lord!" Myoga shouted as he leaped upon his shoulder.

"Myoga," he replied with a nod of recognition, "who is this boy and why does he share my scent?"

"Inuyasha-sama?" Myoga inquired, "mi'lord, that is your youngest son."

That won a weak, dry, laugh from the great demon, "Sesshomaru is my only son. I have no other, and I would never father a hanyou. I have never been in a situation to produce one, either. Tell me, Myoga, what has become of my land? Why is it that all attempt to feud? I am their lord, what is going on?"

"Mi'lord… forgive me, for I am confused," Myoga began, "you have been dead for over two hundred and fifty years."

"I've… what?"

"Inuyasha! Don't do something like that," Tamako scolded as she rushed up to him and knocked his shoulder, before she whispered, "is he real?"

"He smells like me," Inuyasha murmured, "and doesn't seem like a… I don't know."

"Izayoi-sama?" The man mused, "I've never met someone by that name."

"But mi'lord, how else do you explain Inuyasha-sama's presence?" Myoga inquired.

"He's not my son; I would never have had intercourse with a mortal."

"Mi'lord… I don't know what to say," Myoga muttered, "you have been dead… now only to rise up? We must find Sesshomaru-sama."

"This is…" Sango started.

"Odder than normal," Miroku finished.

"Yep," Kagome nodded. Now, it was all very confusing, all very strange, but she simply could not seem to locate the strength to care—she was already on lock-down as it were, her mind was on overload, so why would she really worry over the sudden rise of a demon that ought to be dead?

She should have known…

x-•°•°•-x

The sky above the land he lived in, a distance away from the cave his pack resided in, the wolf demon sat upon a hill staring up at the cloudy sky that looked like it was about to rain. That almost made him smile; the sky was willing to cry for his misery, too. But that was only for a fleeting moment before the weight of the world came crashing back down on him.

His world was done… he didn't care about anything anymore. Naraku. The shards. Anything. Nothing.

He wanted to die.

A sigh left his lips as he shut his wavering blue eyes to let a few tears trickle down as the rain fell to wash away the blood and other liquids on his hands. He heard the footsteps but ignored them, if the rain wasn't in the way he would have been able to smell who it was, but he guessed it was Ginta or Hakkaku trying to comfort him.

Instead, a man that he did not recognize in the strangest of clothes leaned forward to smile down at him, "hello."

"Who the fuck are you?" Kouga weakly inquired before he thought better of it, "never mind, I don't care. Just go away. I don't want to deal with anyone right now."

"I think you do," he assured as he walked two steps forward to spin around and look at the man, "I can give you what you want most in the world. Right now, right here."

"I doubt that," he growled.

"Your mate and child, I can bring them back," he coaxed with a grin, "don't you want that?"

"What?" Kouga growled as he lifted a brow.

"You just lost your mate in child birth, did you not? Along with that child?"

"How… how did you know that?"

Damian simply shrugged as he stood back up and smiled up at the gray, water leaking sky, "does it matter? This is a limited time offer, before either of their bodies begin to rot. This is a rare offer; too, usually I don't get there in time to give the souls back to their original corpse."

"What are you?"

"Nothing important, I want the shards you posses and then I will give you your mate and child life."

"Deal," sure, Kouga should have thought it through but he _had_ to get Ayame and their child back, even if it was a lie what did it matter? He didn't want to go on without them, so he tore out his shards and gave them to him in a flash.

"Let's shake on it, I might need a favor in the future, as well," he added but Kouga didn't care he took his hand; he didn't even flinch at the pinch or care at all as he licked away the blood. He watched intently as Damian stood straight and shut eyes, his head leaning back and forth before he took a sharp breath in then opened his eyes open. "Done."

"Come with me," Kouga ordered as he grasped the man's upper arm and sped towards the cave. He dragged Damian up until they reached the entrance to the awe-struck cave. That was when his hand left the man's and his staggered steps took him to the red-headed, emerald eyed female demon that was sitting up and tending to a crying infant.

"Ayame…" he awed as he dropped to his knees next to her.

"Hey, Kouga, it's boy," she smiled in return as she looked from him to their infant, "what should we name him?"

His wide-eyes wandered over to the man that simply waved before leaving.

How did he do that…?

"Kouga," Ayame chimed for his attention, "what should we name him?"

x-•°•°•-x

"Sesshomaru," the man that bared a great resemblance began, "I'm glad you are here, resolve this mess. Tell Myoga he is wrong."

"I do not know who you are," Sesshomaru retorted as his cold gaze flickered over the man then over to the humans that were a fair distances away, Rin amongst them. "My father died nearly three hundred years ago."

"That is ridiculous," he grunted, "I am not dead, obviously."

"You cannot be my father," Sesshomaru stated as his eyes wandered to his bastard brother who was standing there, not trying to hide his confusion. "You are saying you do not remember your human mistress or fathering a hanyou?"

"I did neither of those things," he assured.

"I do not know what purpose this all will server anyone…" Sesshomaru muttered.

"I donna either," Inuyasha grumbled.

Kagome took a few steps away from Tamako who had been giving her nothing but bad vibes for quite some time as they all tried to listen in on the three demons conversation but she couldn't have cared less, so she went over to the giddy Rin who spent her time playing with the wildflowers.

"Hey," she greeted as she knelt down next to her, "you've grown quite a bit since the last time I saw you."

"Yes," Rin agreed as she nodded, "oh, Kagome-san! I met your brother the other day!"

There went her smile, her breath stopped, her mind ceased to function, then it all came crashing down, "you… you…?"

"He was very kind, he made all this happen," she praised as she pointed towards Sesshomaru and the others.

"Ho… how?"

"He said he could make Lord Sesshomaru's wish come true, and he did! That is Lord Sesshomaru's father."

"So… you made a d-deal with him?" She murmured and watched as Rin nodded joyfully.

"What did you do?" Kagome shouted as she grasped Rin's shoulders, "what did you promises him!"

"Kagome-san," Rin gasped, "he… he just he wanted me to do him a favor! That's all!"

"Kagome?" Miroku inquired, "what's going on?"

"Oh my God, Rin," Kagome muttered as she covered her mouth and allowed her brows to furrow together.

"Was that not Kagome-san's brother?"

She shook her head as she jumped to her feet and ran over to the trio that was by then shouting at each other over this and that, "shut up!" She demanded as she budged her way into the middle of their group.

"Who is this?" The eldest inquired, "mortal, show more respected to the lord of the west."

"Can you not keep your women in line?" Sesshomaru snapped.

"Shut up, she's not mine," Inuyasha grunted.

"Look! I know what's going on!" Kagome declared, "so will you all shut up so I can explain?"

That did silence them long enough for her to start.

"A demon made a deal with Rin to bring your father back from the dead. It's really him, I don't know how he got the body to work, he's never gotten that part right before," she shook her head before she poked the great dog demon in the cheek, which sparked the cruelest glare, "wow… you feel real, and warm… I don't know how he did that."

"Wait, what about Rin?" Sesshomaru snarled.

"Rin made a deal with a very dangerous demon," Kagome turned her attention to him, "it's very bad. _Very_ bad. It is going to… ask for a favor from her in the future, one she cannot deny. It's a _terrible _thing."

"Undo it," Sesshomaru ordered.

"Why do you care so much about a mortal girl?" his father inquired.

"I can't," Kagome coaxed, "only the demon can break the deal… only _that_ demon. Out of all the ones to make a deal with," she sighed as she shook her head, "that's the worst. It's the highest one on the chain, you can't go over it."

"Undo it," Sesshomaru repeated as he grasped her jacket's collar, "now.

"I can't!"

"Let her go, Sesshomaru," Inuyasha ordered as he broke between the two of them.

"So I am to believe that this hanyou is my son," the great dog demon declared, "and he is fretting over a human female and then my other is doing the same thing for an even smaller one? What has become of this world in my absence?"

"They are only taking after you, mi'lord," Myoga murmured.

To that the great dog demon sighed and folded his arms as he watched his sons growl and curse at each other, all for the sake of two human females. "Apparently, I set a bad example…"

x-•°•°•-x

All wanted to pester her about her problems, the demons that lurked in her nightmares, but most were able to keep quiet—though, Sesshomaru still threw around a threat or two before he gave up to quiz his father once more, verifying over and over again that it was truly the one who had given him life that had risen from the dead.

Too many questions buzzed around her battered brain for her to think straight, let alone hold the desire to eat, so she wandered away before dinner to sit alone upon a hillside to think.

"Your brother is possessed by a demon," Miroku stated when he joined her some time later, he was the only one out of the group that she wouldn't mind.

"Yep," she dully stated. But he was dead, too… right? Or had the demon possessed his body before he died, meaning, he never did? But he would have been frail, near death, and the strain a body took while being possessed would have been more than enough to end his life so… even if he wasn't dead yet, he would be the moment the demon left his body. What was a girl supposed to do? Trade one love for another?

"I'm glad to see you and Sango have patched matters up, I have a feeling talking to her will help you."

"Why?" She sighed.

"Your situation bears similarities to her problem with Kohaku."

"I guess it does, doesn't it?" That thought hadn't been one of the many to float around in her mind, "how'd she save Kohaku?"

"Kikyou-sama did," he frowned, "she was the one to free him from Naraku and secure his life once the shard was removed from his shoulder. She was the one who tended to his tattered mind and managed to free him from his guilt."

"Kikyou, huh?" Kagome murmured, "I… am sorry she is dead."

"So am I but I believe her soul may finally rest at peace like it deserves. She had too many hardships to bear and had to do so alone for so long, I truly hope that death has given her some sort of solace. Once Naraku is dead, I am certain it will."

"One holy person's respect for another?" Kagome teased with a nudge, wiggling a smile out of the not-so-pious man, "or is because she's pretty?"

"Now, now, I would never," Miroku assured.

"Because Inuyasha would have murdered you."

"That is true," he chuckled, "speaking _of_ Inuyasha…"

"Oh, please," she groaned, "don't."

"Tamako is good a tending to his broken pieces," Miroku went on anyway, "but I don't think she can put them back together. You, on the other hand—"

"Can shatter them into even smaller fragments," she murmured, "I have enough problems of my own, the last thing I need to do is taken on his. Damian, my brother, he has to come first, Miroku. I have to help him before anyone else."

"I understand that, blood is important," he asserted with a smile, "but once that is done… do you really want to look back and wonder 'what if'?"

"Sango still has feelings for you," she blurted out only to change the subject and if it had been anything else it would not have but she knew Miroku's Achilles heel would forever be a certain salutary slayer. "I was talking to her the other day and she's not as certain about Rensei as she pretends to be, she still thinks about you a lot… she wants things to go back to the way they used to be."

"That… can't happen," Miroku mumbled as his violets turned up to the dusk sky, "I have Michio now, and she has Rensei."

"Sure, but a few years from now when this is all over, do you want to look back and wander 'what if'?" She couldn't help but throw his question right back in his face as she got up and patted him on the back, "I'm just saying."

"How is it that you get out of all our conversations?" Miroku sighed as she walked away.

x-•°•°•-x

The hurt and baffled hanyou sat alone high on a tree to think through all that had occurred—what the fuck, was really the only clear thought. He lost Kikyou… yet gained his father back? But a father that didn't remember his mother nor creating him? Did he really need the added drama?

"Inuyasha," a terribly familiar female called up to him.

"Go away," he grunted back without even bothering to look down at the damsel from dozens of decades in the future.

"Can we talk?" Kagome inquired instead.

"No."

"Well, fine," she muttered, "I'm going to talk, you can listen if you want to."

"I don't."

"I'm sorry, really, I am, that Kikyou is dead—"

"Go away!"

The roar in his voice gave her a silent shiver but she kept on, "I can't tell you how sorry I am. I wish I hadn't kept you back…" she wished more than anything she hadn't kissed him. "But I want to help make it up to you."

"How?" he snarled as he glared down at her, "how the hell are you going to do that?"

"Naraku apparently wants something from me now, right? I mean, why else would he have cocooned me up in a weird spell thingy in the forest the other day? Why show himself after hiding from you guys for so long? I'm more than willing to act as bait," it was, after all, the least she could do for him. "I really want to help, and if that's the part I need to play in order to allow you to get your chance at killing the bastard, I'm happy to do so."

Naraku dead, that was all he wanted, so he took a moment to mull it over before leaping down from the tree to land in front of her, "do you have any ideas on how to do that?"

"I figure if I hold all the jewel shards, he'll be even more tempted to find me," she suggested.

"Fuck no, I don't trust you with all of them when you won't even hand over those," he nodded to her necklace.

"Oh, come on, Inuyasha, what could _I_ possibly want with the jewel? When it's full I'll give it to you to do whatever you want with them," she assured. After all, by the time they had all the fragments not even the power of the shikon jewel would be enough to slow the black fog that ate away at her from the inside.

"You think that'll be enough to get him to come out?" Inuyasha grumbled with a suspicious stare.

"No, I don't, I think that I'll need to travel alone, but somehow in a manner in which you guys can still watch me or something… I'm not so sure how, but that way he'd think I'm alone—since that was when he attacked me last time—but you guys could still come storming in when he appears."

"Hm," he nodded, "maybe Miroku or Tamako will know something like that…"

"Maybe," she shrugged, though; she knew that Miroku would be less than pleased to hear of her idea. "Inuyasha… how did Kikyou die?"

She watched him flinch from her question and a strange stir of emotions arise in his eyes before he apparently deemed her worthy enough to hear, "she thought we were taking too long to destroy Naraku… and she figured out where he was, so she decided to go there alone and try and purify him. It didn't work… she sent a shikigami to summon me for help but I got there after Naraku tore through her like a piece of cloth." He clenched his fists as his body tensed, "I held her as she died… _again_ at that bastard's hands. But she smiled… she was happy I came for her, she said. It only made me feel worse… I spent two days tracking that bastard but I lost his scent."

"I'm sorry," Kagome whispered, "really, I am."

Maybe, a part of him believed her, but not a large enough part to forgive her.

"What the hell's going on?" He grumbled as his gaze returned to her, "why did that demon that's possessing your brother bring my dad back to life?"

"I don't know," she honestly replied, "I've never understood why it does anything it does. I think it just likes to screw with people, destroying Rin and Sesshomaru would only be a past-time fancy for it. To bring your dad back without any memories of your mother sounds like something it'd do, just to fuck with everyone. But, why? I really can't imagine why…" which scared her to no end.

"Why do you keep saying 'it'?"

"It's… an it?" She shrugged, "I mean, that type of demon doesn't have any gender, it's just this entity. They are only a 'he' or a 'she' when they're inside a human, otherwise they're natural. That's why it doesn't have any qualms with jumping from little girls bodies to a grown man's."

"That's weird…" he muttered.

"Yeah, well, I've met a few demons that heavily prefer one type over another, that try to only possess males or females, but generally I don't think they care."

"Your world is weird… how'd you get involved in all this?" He could tell she was about to shrug it off but so he sped to add, "you said you'd tell me everything, remember? Are you going to go back on your word?"

That stumped her… what was she going to do to him? Sacrifice him for her brother's sake? She didn't think she could but… a part of her did, so didn't he deserve to know the truth? "Let's s-i-t down," Kagome requested as she did just that under the shade of the tree he once lingered in. "It's a long story."

He nodded as he sat quite a bit away from her; it was then that she took a deep breath before starting on the ever so long tale.

"In my world there is the living world and the damned, hell. Hell is obviously where all the demons are coming from, damned spirits are doomed to linger and toil down in the painful place for all of eternity, being tortured over and over again in the worst of ways, you can't even imagine, _I_ can't even imagine…" she sighed at that, "then those damned souls eventually harden over and become evil, _truly_ evil, more so than they ever were—even if they were good when they were sent there. They become demons, all demons once were humans. Except for a few, they call themselves the 'originals' and claim to have always been demon. They are the leaders down there. The one you met, the one that took over my body that one time, it's an original."

"How do you remember that if you don't remember what happened when you were possessed?" Inuyasha inquired.

_Ah, right, I went with that story_, she thought to herself with a nervous smile, "I just do."

Still, he gave her a suspiciously narrowed stare. "Alright, I get it so far… I think."

"And the other one, the one… that has Damian," Kagome murmured as she lifted her legs to her chest and wrapped her arms loosely around them, "that one is an original too, it claims to be really high up in the chain of command, the third to the top… I have no idea who is at the top, but I really hope I never meet it," she shivered at the very thought. "Needless to say, even they want to get out of Hell because it's so bad. So they've been trying for centuries to get out, about three hundred or so years back—from my time—a few started to find a crack between realms. That's when they started to wreck havoc and apparently killed off all which you consider demons."

"Yeah, that thing that got you told me something about that."

She nodded as her eyes moved up to the sky that had just lost all its light and slowly allowed the stars to take over, along with a slim moon. "When that happened, a human resistance group formed to combat them. Mostly made up with people that possessed spiritual powers, my dad's ancestors were some of the founding members. But as time progressed humans just forgot about the demon problem and now most don't even believe in them, the resistance isn't that big and keeps its existence hidden from the general population

"The demon's goal has always been to find a portal that would be big enough and open it so that everything that was in hell could spill out into the living world. Which would be _bad_ and pretty much end of the world material. The resistance's number one goal is to keep that from happening. My dad was a pivotal member of it… he consulted a psychic—he loved those stupid things—all the time about how to keep the portal from opening. One eventually told him that he was the key; he had to marry and have a child, a daughter, who would be able to help. This was after he had already lost his first wife, Damian's mother. So… he found my mom. I guess he really loved her since he stayed long enough to have Souta, too…

"But then he left, because he knew the demons were looking for him—they really hated him, since he sent so many back to hell. He faked his own death so that we wouldn't look for him, so we wouldn't draw the demons attentions, and then went back underground with the resistance. Three years ago he came back to tell me all this and say he needed my help, because my spiritual power had matured enough that I would be a great asset to the resistance and somehow I was the key to keeping the portal closed," she shrugged one shoulder, "I don't know. No one's ever been really clear on explaining that one to me."

"I left because my father needed me," Kagome concluded, "and… he said if I didn't help him, that the whole world might have been doomed… it sounds silly but I really believed him. I couldn't let that happen. He said that demons had figured out about the part I was meant to play in locking them all away in hell for good, he said that they'd be coming after me, and if I stayed there with my mom, grandpa and brother they'd be in danger… and maybe even you. I couldn't let that happen, so I left. If he turned out to have been wrong I would have come back but he was right…

"I'm sorry, Inuyasha. If I had told you all of this then you would have just wanted to help, right? You wouldn't have let me go alone and I couldn't risk anything bad happening to you. I knew how important destroying Naraku was and I didn't want you to give up on that just because of me and my world, it hadn't anything to do with you."

It was obvious that his mind had to have more time to comprehend all that she had told him, the story that took from sun down to high moon to tell, so she wasn't surprised in the least bit that he didn't have anything to say in return but a nod and a 'let's go back to camp'.

Maybe he'd understand someday… after all, he would have done the same thing to keep her out of danger. They both knew that.

x-•°•°•-x

"So pretty," he coaxed as his finger tips brushed up the smooth, fair skin of his brand new doll that was only starting to warm up. "I've never had such a pretty play-thing. You will be oh-so-helpful, I can just tell. Don't worry, everything will be alright soon," he assured the lying, brunette as he walked around to kneel beside her head and look into her empty chocolate orbs.

"I'm afraid you don't have enough soul, though, to move yet," he pouted playfully as he stroked a few of her long strands of hair out of her face, "but don't worry, soon I'll fix that. Though, you won't get your original soul back," he wagged his finger at the notion, "I'll give you a better one and I'll even let you keep the fragment you have now. Aren't I kind, my pretty priestess?"

"Here's our guest," he grinned as his eyes moved away from the mystic's creation to the window that swarmed with a somber cloud, "come in, I found a new host for you, my favorite fiend. I had her made with you in mind."

As requested, the somber smoke entered the hut to float down into the body. It took a few moments before it jolted up and breathed in air.

"Master," she smiled as she weakly sat up, "you are too kind to me."

"I am," he assured, "but you are my favorite, so it cannot be helped. Tell me, do you like it?"

"Very much so," she assured as her hands moved down the fair skinned, nude, body of hers, "what is her name? What will I be called?"

"Her name…" he paused as he searched for it, "it's on the tip of my tongue… it's right there… oh, what is it? Bellflower… Bellflower… ah, yes, Kikyou. Kikyou is its name."

"Kikyou," she mused, "I like it. The soul within this one is not so strong, it's faded, I can barely feel her there."

"Yes, well, that's how it goes," he shrugged with a smirk; the first stage of his sinister plot had been completed.

The second was still to come.

**{~**¤°•.¤°•.¤°•.¤°•.¤°•.**~}**

_Hidden high in the castle top lied a room swallowed in a somber sensation, one step in and any mortal would surely suffocate. If one dared to venture far enough, if one was able to make the trek, they would have discovered the glimmering crystal container that held a single, marred, ruby rose. A rose that tilted to one side as it lost another petal and with it, some of its shimmering gleam._

* * *

**Blue Rose**: symbolizes the unattainable or impossible


	14. Dog Rose

†**{ A** **R**_ose_ by **A**_ny_ **O**_ther _**N**_ame_…** }**†**  
x{ **_1_**4: D**_og _**R**_ose_**}x  
**-•°•°•-  
_**Warning: This chapter is why this is a 'M' story.  
**_-•°•°•-

The no-longer friendly or preppy priestess was the second hardest to convince the merits of their plan; she did not want to give up the jewel shards she had worked so hard to gather and purify to a girl that could barely keep hers clean, but Inuyasha insisted enough that she gave in with a reluctant sigh and a drop of the jewels into Kagome's open hands, attached with a rather cruel stare before she turned her head.

The worst was the mindful monk that _hated_ the very idea of using Kagome as bait, he spent an entire morning trying to talk the hard-headed hanyou and female from the future out of it, but both were resolved so he gave in with absolute prejudice to the contrary. With all the jewel shards and a scroll in her pocket which Tamako would be able to sense—if something were wrong, they'd know right away—she headed off in the afternoon to wander a far distance ahead of them in hopes of luring out the evil monster they all yearned to destroy.

Kill Naraku, kill Naraku, kill Naraku, that's all she tried to focus on. Not why the demon called Inu no Taisho was suddenly back from the dead or the vicious threats that Sesshomaru bestowed on her before she left about how he'd murder her if any harm were to befall on Rin. Not what would become of Damian. Not if she would give up Inuyasha for Damian. Not what the hell she was meant to do next. Not _anything_…

Just Naraku dead. Wasn't that a happy thought?

Perhaps she had too vivid of an imagination that captivated her too much, perhaps it was the terrible ache in her chest that grew and grew, perhaps it was any combination or more, but she didn't notice the looming aura around her.

Stupid, stupid, stupid girl, she should have seen the thud to the back of her head coming. Hard enough to knock any mortal out, just barely she heard a wicked chuckle that had haunted her dreams…

x-•°•°•-x

"Inuyasha," Tamako murmured as they lingered behind at that campsite, waiting until nightfall to follow the not-so-long departed Kagome, "we need to talk."

He held back a sigh; he was certain that was to come but she had given him time to cope with his dilemma, thankfully, "about…?"

"I respected Kikyou-sama a great deal, I respected the sacrifices she made for you and the love that you two shared—one that I could never touched, she died for you after all…" Tamako started with a sigh, "because of that I didn't get in the way of you two. I respected it… but there _is_ a difference when it comes to Kagome-san."

"Tamako—"

"Don't," she warned, "don't tell me there is nothing there. Don't tell me you don't care about her, that she's nothing. Don't lie to me, Inuyasha."

He couldn't help but gulp at that, rarely did she scold him seriously but when she did it was a frightful sight. "I…"

"I won't tolerate a three-way-relationship with you," she simply stated, "not anymore. I'm not going to say choose right now, but soon. Her or me, I don't want to be fawning over a boy that has no interest in me—"

"Tamako, it's not—"

"If you love her… or just more than me," Tamako interrupted, "I want to know soon, so I can have time to move on. Inuyasha, I don't want to be caught off guard in the future. I don't want to become something only to pretend later that I was caught blindsided by your affair with her. I know it might happen, and if you think it could then tell me and we'll stop whatever it is we have. I don't… I can't take that, Inuyasha. I don't want to be hurt anymore… it's not like it was easy for me to let you go see Kikyou-sama, it's not like it didn't sting each time. I… it'd hurt so much more if it was Kagome-san. She _hurt_ you, she _left_…"

Kikyou died for him, Tamako could not touch that, she could not deny that, and she would not. Her time spent with the pretty, perished priestess was always pleasant, she was not the most affectionate and outgoing woman but she was kind and strong, someone Tamako could admire and aspire to.

Kagome? She left Inuyasha, she was the one that broke him, the one Tamako had to pick of the pieces from. She wouldn't share with her… a choice had to be made.

He understood and couldn't help but feel the guilt swell up in his chest as he looked to the ground, "I get it."

"I care a great deal about you so please think it through carefully," Tamako requested before stood up and walked away.

x-•°•°•-x

With a weak moan from the pang that pulsed through her head with each throb of her heart she barely managed to open her eyes to see the dark chamber that surrounded her. _Where am I_? Was the only solid thought she could form through the liquid haze of incomplete considerations. It took a few more blinks before she was able to see clearly and recognize what was happening.

Her wrists were chained to the wall far above her head, her head dangling down while she leaned forward all while she knelt upon the wooden floor, no matter how much she tugged she couldn't free herself from the metical cuffs—she was, after all, but a mortal.

What had happened?

"You've returned," a familiar, deep, chuckle called out from all around her before she looked to one of the sliding doors that opened so Naraku could enter in all his glory, a loose kimono upon him as he knelt down in front of her. "Where were you hiding all this time?"

_Well, that planned failed miserably_. She thought to herself as she looked at the nearly full jewel in his hand, it looked as if it were only missing a fragment or two which meant… he had taken the ones she had. _That plan majorly failed…_

It emanated a terrible purple, black glow as it swirled with endless evils.

"I see you are admiring my hard work," he smirked as he grasped his hand around it until it disappeared into his body, "no one can stop me now."

"Except Inuyasha," she countered coarsely.

That only made his grin grow, "I killed his precious Kikyou for the _second_ time the other day, the man is crushed and _angry_, he'll be easy to slaughter, especially after I'm done with you. If he still holds even a flicker of the flame he once had for you then I'll destroy him, he'll run into our final battle with nothing but rage on his mind and I'll end him swiftly," he gloated as he lifted a hand up to caress her cheek.

"Don't touch me," she hissed as she jerked her face away from his grasp.

"Still so much spunk," he chuckled, "good, it's more fun that way."

It was then that he grasped her ebony tousles in his hand and yanked her head up abruptly so he could get a better look at her, "you have grown more attractive over these long years which, again, only makes this better."

"You're disgusting," she spat, literally, in his face. That made him shut his crimson eyes and tense up while he whipped the mess. To show his disapproval he slapped her across the face with a ferocious clash, one that jerked her whole body to one side.

"You will submit to me, beg for it even," he threatened as he tore at her white tank top, she hadn't the faintest idea what had happened to her jacket.

"Never," she asserted.

"Soon, you'll be dying for my touch," he whispered upon his hot breath into her ear.

"Dying _from_ your touch," she muttered only to feel another sharp sting to her other cheek. "Hit me as much as you'd like, it isn't going to change a thing."

"Such a strong spirit," he praised as he stroked her freshly rosy cheek with the back of his hand, "it doesn't matter. I have as long as I want with you, do you think that Inuyasha will magically appear to save you? Do you think that he will be able to find you? He has been searching for this place for so very long. He couldn't even find it after I practically led him here after murdering that dead wench of his a second time."

"Inuyasha's going to kill you," Kagome assured with a smile, "whether I'm alive to see it or not. You. Will. _Die_."

"And you'll submit to me," he countered with a crooked smile as he tore away the remainder of her shirt to expose her nude colored bra.

"I will _never_," she coaxed, "never do that."

"Whether you like it or not, you will," he grinned as he grasped her legs to pry them out from below her so she suddenly dropped to her ass. She tried to struggle, so hard against his actions, but it was to no avail, he ripped her jeans off—and she had so loved those jeans, too—so she was left in nothing but her bra and pink underwear. They didn't even match, if it was anyone else she would have blushed but instead she kept her revolted façade upon.

"That's better," he chuckled as his fingers glided up her bare thighs to play with the elastic band, "isn't it?"

"Get away!" She demanded as she tried to kick him off with her unbound legs but it, too, was useless, he just grasped them and pinned them to the side so he could slide closer to her—pressing his warmth to hers.

_This could really happen_, finally clicked in her head at that moment, when his face as so close to his—disgustingly. Her heart stopped for that moment as her stunned hazels locked with his creepy crimsons, _this really, really could…_

She was a virgin; no one had caught her interest enough for her to give it up. There had been boys she made out—a little more here and there—but always within the heat of a moment, usually after a near death experience in which they bonded because of that, but she had never considered having sex with a single one of them—well, most of them. Now she ran the risk of giving up her innocence to that most disgusting demon she knew?

"That's right," Naraku whispered as he leaned forward to breathe against her neck, "that quickened heart-rate was what I was waiting for."

"Get away," Kagome gasped but with a thrust her back was pinned against the cold, hard, wooden wall behind her and his loins hidden in clothe against her threatened-to-be-penetrated prize that was also veiled. "Stop!" She shouted once she felt his nibbles upon her neck, his hands kneading her thighs and body rhythmically moving against hers, "stop!"

"Scream," he shivered with a thrill while his lips pressed against her ear, "scream."

She bit her bottom lip as she shut her eyes and tried to move her head away from his. No, no, _no_. Did she honestly not have enough issues as is? Did she have to add on to the list? What could she have ever possibly done to deserve such a cruel fate? So many misfortunes?

She cringed and pursed her lips all the more when she felt one of Naraku's hands—the ones that felt as if they had never known a hard day of work in all his life—up her thigh, up her side, and up to crawl und her bra so he could pinch at her pink nub. What could she do? Scream and give him pleasure? Struggle but to no avail? _What_?

Then he stopped, discontented himself from her with a smirk and left the room without a word.

_That's what I can do to you bitch, _he was essentially saying, _and_ will_ do to you._

He was just giving her time to lament over that, time to dread it, time to feel absolutely helpless…

_Inuyasha_, she inwardly whimpered as she shut her eyes. _Don't let this happen._

She had thought something terrible could happen to her, she even thought she might die trying to lure Naraku out, but she _never_ thought… never dared to think…

_Inuyasha, please,_ she pled as she tightened her lids, _please._

x-•°•°•-x

"Damn it all to hell!" Inuyasha cursed as he picked up speed and readjusted his grasp on Tamako all at once, "I thought you said this would work, Tamako!"

"I told you it _might_!" She countered as she tightened his grip around his neck, "I said I've never tried it before! In my defense, we did figure out something was wrong—"

"Yeah, after something happened!" Inuyasha growled, "now Naraku has her and we don't even know where his fortress is!"

"Inuyasha," Sango called out from Kirara, Miroku riding right behind her, "we'll find her."

"Maybe," he muttered—but in time? And… really, they'd only find her if Naraku wanted them to, they all knew that.

And if he did, they would be walking into a trap.

He should have never agreed to that stupid idea of hers, what the hell had he been thinking?

x-•°•°•-x

How long had she been locked away in the dark room that didn't brighten or dim no matter what, it just stayed the same shade of in-between? She couldn't tell, but he let her linger there for so long to allow the chill of the room to eat away at her bare skin and throat dry up every time she swallowed.

Thirst.

The hunger she could deal with, but the thirst was worse than the throb her head still pulsed along with.

Sleep begged to take her heavy hanging head but she didn't dare allow it—what atrocity would that sinister monster commit if she tried to rest?

The circulation constantly cut off to her lower legs and feet to give her a numb, pins and needle sensation but she hadn't much of a choice than to kneel, her wrists were held too high up that she couldn't even sit on her butt, an inch separated between it and the rough wooden panels.

She barely managed to lift her sagging lids when she heard the door slide open then closed followed by his slow and deliberate footsteps up to her before he knelt down to take her chin into his hand to tilt her face up so she could see his smothering smirk so he could draw out, "I forget how frail mortals are."

A glare was all she could muster up at that before he moved his free hand to pick up a cup and lift it to her lips, "it's water, or would you rather die?"

Heavily, she contemplated the latter but if he meant to poison her, well, she'd prefer that over being raped—hell, even being drugged would have been better than being sober—so she parted her lips enough for him to tip the cup and gulp down the water so quickly she had to cough up some of it.

"Inuyasha is looking for you," Naraku informed as he whipped away the water the dripped down her chin, "but he won't find you, not until I want him to. Don't worry, I have no intention of killing you," yet, "I want him to see you after I'm done. He'll never be able to look at you, he'd be too guilt ridden and disgusted with the very notion that _you_ _let_ me violate you."

"You're right," she murmured as her eyes wandered to the floor.

"Shall we pick up where we left off?" He inquired, relishing in the flicker of revolt that flashed upon her face as his hands slid up her body.

Her eyes shut, her body tensed, and she held her breath as he ripped away her bra. Tighter lids, contorted expressions, pressed lips, she tried to pay no heed to the way he kneaded her breasts, thumbing her nubs.

His heated tongue licked its way up the center of her chest to her neck, to her ear, inside, then to her cheek. "Not like this," he growled into her ear as he grasped her hips and jerked her up to twirl her arms and press her exposed breasts against the rough wooden wall. "This is how I will rip away at your innocence."

Granted, Higurashi Kagome did not have first-hand-knowledge about sex but she knew enough horror stories from friends to know that to do it from behind like that her first time—ignoring the simple fact that it was Naraku doing the deed—would be hellishly painful. Add to that equation the fact that it _was_ Naraku…? She took in a shaky breath as she felt his hands slid up her legs and up to her bottom to slowly tug down her pink panties.

Her teeth pressed against her bottom lip as she grasped the chains that held her to the wall.

"No protests, no screams?" Naraku taunted, "do you not want me to stop? Perhaps you are not so pure, not so pious, is this what you want?"

"What I really, really want?" She murmured back as she glanced over her shoulder to look at his smug façade, "maybe."

That caused a flinch in his arrogance for a moment before his eyes narrowed upon her.

"People change, it _has_ been three years," she cooed back with a grin, "why do I have to be the same sweet girl as before?"

What was the meaning of this? She was supposed to be cowering, crying, begging, pleading for him to stop, to not hurt her, not take her innocence—was there no innocence to take? "I was curious why that man appeared…"

"What man? There are so many," she replied as he pressed her against the wall, showing her how her naughty talk affected him below in the process.

"The one in the odd clothes, the cocky bastard that wanted me to shatter you," Naraku explained as his lips brushed against her bare shoulder before he bit down briefly, that did win a cringe from her and a peep of pain but that was all.

"That guy," Kagome sighed as she bit her own bottom lip in hopes of ignoring her bleeding wound, "what was he going to do for you in return, hm?"

"Kill Inuyasha, all of them."

"Of course," she laughed, "cause everyone knows that _you_ could never do your own dirty work. Coward."

"What?" he snarled as he grasped her hair and yanked her head back.

"You heard me," she whispered back, "coward. You are scared of me, of Inuyasha, of everyone."

"You?" He chuckled, "you flatter yourself."

"No, I really don't," she assured, "after all, if you weren't, you wouldn't have me locked up like this. You wouldn't do me like this. You'd free my wrists and fuck me properly, like I can tell you want to," she tempted as she rubbed rump against his harden groin, "but you _won't_ because you _are_ a coward. That's fine. Whatever. It's not like you'd be the first to tie me up."

She felt his hands grip her tighter, his fingers pry into her, his nails puncture her skin, his body tremble from probably a mixture of things—anger at the top, lust thrown in there somewhere.

It was abrupt and all at once, he turned her arm, slammed her against the wall, _again_, before unlocking her wrists to push her down onto the ground below him, still he pressed against her between her spread thighs.

Men, demons, hanyous, humans, they were all easy to play—pride was their key, toy with it and… well, her wish could be granted.

"Now, that's more like it," she smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck, she bit back her growing grin as his apprehensive gaze locked onto her apparent enthusiasm—had he picked up the wrong girl? Was that not Kagome?

"You're taking the fun out of this, but I'm still going to make you scream for me," smirked Naraku.

"I'm going to have fun," she countered as she grasped his shoulders. It had been her goal all along to focus all of her for this moment, so she could channel every bit of energy she possessed into one purifying violet blast. One that caused a blood boiling scream from the monster that loomed above her before he toppled to the side, smoldering from the attack.

If she was a clever girl—or, more importantly, if her mind was not frayed—she might have thought to take the jewel out of him before she sprinted out of the room, down the hall, turning at every corner she found but she didn't think about that. If she had not seen her bag flung on the other side of the room she wouldn't have though to pick that up, either. Eventually, after all her running she discovered the exit. She ran and ran out of the purple fogged place, through the barrier and over the field outside of it as dawn broken.

It was the most disgusting thing she had ever had to do, to even _pretend_ she wanted… she shivered at the thought as she shut her eyes and ran all the harder. It probably saved her innocence, though, and perhaps even her life.

That didn't stop her from tripping all over the place, pausing at one point to grasp a tree and keel over to vomit from the trauma and repulsion she felt—just another discomfort to add to the cold, thirst, hunger, _nudity_. Her feet picked up again, she wanted to be as far away from Naraku as possible when he arose but she was but a mortal and she had put almost all her energy into the attack, in the midst of the forest she found herself in she collapsed, passing out before she even hit the ground.

x-•°•°•-x

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Damian muttered with a shake of his head and a wag of his finger as he stepped into the room that still held a heavily paralyzed not-yet-demon. "She tricked you," he sung as he squatted down next to him, "she's slippery like that. Innocent until she needn't be, naughty until there is a threat of her becoming _truly_ naughty. You failed."

"You…" Naraku barely managed to say before his eyes jolted open from the terrible sensation of Damian's hand in his chest.

"You didn't keep up your part of the bargain," he cooed as he ripped out the jewel, "and without this you are powerless, right? Pathetic. Truly, _pathetic,_ it's pet peeve of mine when low lives like yourself have to use something else to create strength. Suffering makes an individual stronger; you haven't suffered enough—not like me. Hell will strengthen you, just like it did me, then maybe someday you'd have a chance." He lectured as he slid the jewel into his pocket and stood up.

The gravely impaired fusion of demons' eyes widened all the more as a figure in the traditional priestess wardrobe walked up to Damian's side, "Ki… Kik…?"

"I lack the respect for you to think up a fun and clever way to kill you so… Die," he hummed with an open palm pointed down to him, in a fine flash of fiery lights, the slippery, spider scarred demon was sent to hell.

"Oh, master, you are so impressive," the demon within Kikyou's façade praised as she wrapped her arms around his, "that thing stood no chance."

"You are right," he assured as he patted his pocket, "he did all I needed him. Kagome is worn out, she no longer has the jewel shards to keep the curse from eating away at her, it will amplify now, and she has overexerted herself. Now, I do believe I have the full jewel, what shall I do with it?"

"Anything you want, master," she obediently replied.

"I can think of a thing or two," he grinned, "should we go after Kagome?"

"No, master, let her die on the forest floor like the piece of dirt she is," the woman pouted as she rested her head against his shoulder.

x-•°•°•-x

"Damn it!" Inuyasha cursed with tightly clenched hands, so gravely that his claws pierced his skin, "this is… is useless!"

That it was, they all knew it but none dared to say it aloud. None wanted it to be true. But… as long as Naraku did not want them to find him—or Kagome—then they wouldn't.

"Inuyasha," Tamako whispered as she placed her hand upon his arm, "it'll be alright."

"You don't know that," he grumbled back.

An odd sensation struck Miroku at that moment, at first it was barely anything, only enough to spark his brows to furrow together in confusion, then it grew so he grasped the wrist of his cursed hand.

"Houshi-sama?" Sango whispered as she took a step closer to him, concern clearly etched onto her face, "what is wrong?"

"I don't know," he murmured back, finally gaining the priestess and hanyou's attention in the process. "That was odd," he muttered was the sensation ceased, with a raised brow he turned away from the group to unleash his wind-tunnel to check it. The only problem was… it didn't open up; there was no pulling portal that emanated from the center of his hand. Cautiously, he closed his hand then opened it up again only to do that three more times before he felt it was safe to turn his hand towards him so he could inspect it.

"It's gone…?"

"Gone?" Sango repeated as she slowly walked up to him so she could see for herself, "but… how?"

"Wouldn't that mean," Tamako murmured, "that Naraku is dead? Isn't that the only explanation?"

"Maybe," Sango paused as she looked from the baffled monk to the perplexed priestess, "Kagome did something? Maybe he's really dead and she's alright?"

"I don't know," she replied with a sigh before she turned to see what Inuyasha had to say, and there arose another dilemma—the hanyou had already sped off in search once more. "Inuyasha!"

"I hope Kagome is alright," Sango whispered while her brows bent together and mahogany gaze flickered up to Miroku who nodded along.

"Inuyasha will find her," he just had to…

x-•°•°•-x

She had to be alright, she _had_ to be. It seemed like such a good idea at the time! To use her as bait to lure Naraku out, why did that sound like a sensible thing? Because he was hurt, because he wanted Naraku dead, because he was so _sick_ of waiting to get the chance, because… he was mad at her for so many reasons.

Would everything be better if she died? No. If she was hurt? Maybe… maybe he wanted her to be injured just a little but not whatever Naraku was doing to her…

If he thought about it—which he did, constantly while he ran on and on and on—he would have done the same thing. He had to make the choice he would have pushed her away instead of drawing her into danger—hadn't he tried to do that numerous times before?

That was when a scent wafted up his nose, a sweet, _sweet_ scent that he knew so well. With added vigor he sped through the forest he found himself in until he landed next to an almost entirely nude body with nothing more than pink underwear and a bag, face-first in the floor of the forest.

"Kagome," he murmured as he swiftly removed his red fire-rat robe to wrap her up in and take her in his arms all relatively quickly, he could still hear her heart beat, still see her chest move with each breath, but she was out cold to match how her skin felt as he cradled her gently before picking her up. "What'd he do to you?"

Of course, she didn't answer. He needed to get her out of the damp and breezy forest to somewhere he could start a fire to heat her up. Luck seemed to be on his side, as always, when it came to finding an abandoned hut. It was a tattered one with a broken roof but it was good enough for the time being, so he walked through the weaving bamboo door to set her down near the center. Reluctantly he left her side to gather wood to start the fire.

The others would surely find them eventually and he didn't dare leave her long enough to go get them, Kagome was fine—alive, at least—and that was all that mattered. They'd figure that out ultimately, they could wait, so he sat down next to the sleeping, shivering, damsel to keep his golden gaze upon her intently until the shivers stopped and her restlessness seemed to give way.

What had he done to her…? Wasn't the answer blaring in his face? She _reeked_ of that disgusting demon; she had puncture wounds to match his claws on her side and a bite mark on her shoulder along with a slightly bruised cheek. Had he… no, Inuyasha shook his head and shut his eyes, he couldn't think like that. He couldn't… she couldn't have been…

His heart lightened only a bit when he noticed her start to stir, it tensed up just as quickly when he saw her eyes flicker open—would she confirm his fear?

"Kagome?"

_I know that voice…_ she thought wearily before she managed to keep her lids apart, carelessly she pushed herself up to look over at the hushed hanyou beside her, a smile lightly laced her lips at that, until she felt a chill upon her chest that was not there a moment before and realized his widened golden gaze was fixated on her. It took a moment for her to glance down at herself to see that his red robe had slipped down to her waist to expose her bare breasts to him.

"Ah!" She gasped as she quickly wrapped the robe around her chest once more and turned her reddened cheeks away from him.

_Really_? Really, she was going to blush over exposing her bosom to a man that had seen the sight before after a revolting demon had…? Tasted them? She knew she was being silly and once she acknowledged that fact the innocent blush vanished to give way to disgust—a stomach turning, twisting, and vomit inducing sensation.

"What…" Inuyasha weakly began, "happened?"

"I'm dying of hunger," Kagome muttered instead as she turned her pouting hazels to him, "is there anything to eat here?"

"I think I saw some rice here," he murmured back as his gaze flickered around for the container he had come upon.

"I'm _starving_," she kept up until he gave in with a sigh and went through all the proper motions to fix her a bowl and hand it to her so she could slowly eat it in silence. "This is the best rice _ever_."

"You must have been starving to say that," Inuyasha grumbled as his eyes washed over her a few times, "what happened, Kagome?"

Her hazels wavered away at that, "nothing."

"_Kagome_," he drew out, "that's bullshit. What'd he do to you? Or do you just wander around in a forest naked for fun?"

That got a cringe out of her before she set her nearly empty bowl down to stare at the small fire. "Do you want to know the truth? The whole truth and nothing but the truth?"

"Yes," he murmured with a cocked brow, "Kagome…? What's wrong? What'd he do?"

"Do you remember when you took me to the psychic before this? When I spoke to her privately? Do you want to know what she said?" She inquired as she lifted her gaze to fixate on him.

"Does that have anything to do with Naraku?"

"Sorta," she shrugged.

"Fine," he grunted, "what?"

"She said, the only way for me to save Damian is if you die. 'Cause the damn universe thought that it would be funny to have you be reincarnated as my half-brother," she dryly laughed, "so, if you die then Damian can get his soul back and be alright. So, for a while now I've been kinda thinking that if you died along the way it'd be okay because unlike _you_ I have a loving and functional relationship with my older brother but then the other part of my mind—and my heart—screams at me for thinking that because I love you, too!"

It wasn't a romantic moment, their eyes didn't meet longingly, there was no twinkling lifting sensation as butterflies fluttered in her chest while proclaiming it. Neither acknowledged the glimmer of the stars that flickered through the holes in the roof. No, it had been declared in hidden in the raging rant of a mad woman.

But, when did romance ever matter? When did love ever follow that sweet script?

Why did she have to say it buried within all the other idiocy? He was meant to cope with the fact a part of her wanted him dead yet the knowledge that she loved him all at once? What was there to say to that, what was he meant to feel? His golden gaze moved away as he remained silent trying to sort just that out. Was he happy? Sort of. Was he mad? Sort of. Was he confused as hell? Yes, yes he was.

"I don't know what to do," she whimpered as she wrapped her arms around her lifted legs to rest her forehead against her knees.

"Kagome," he managed to murmur but what else was there to say? 'It's OK, I'll just die and you can have your brother back?' Nope, that wasn't going to happen. 'I love you, too?' Did he? So he said the only thing he could, "what'd Naraku do to you?"

"Tried to rape me," she sighed as she shut her eyes, "it didn't work… he didn't get that far."

"Is he dead, did you kill him?" Inuyasha sped while he felt fury fester in him, if he wasn't he would surely tear that bastard to shreds bit by bit.

"I focused as much energy as I could in zapping him off of me," she replied, "but I don't think that killed him, just really hurt him."

"Miroku's wind tunnel is gone…"

"It is?" She chimed as she glanced to him, "really? But… I really don't think I could have…"

"Where's the jewel shards?"

_Oh, crap_, she cringed before managing a weak smile, "ops?"

"Ops?" Inuyasha grumbled with a twitching brow, "_ops_? Where are they!"

"You know what? I was sort of traumatized! So sorry if I wasn't thinking about that stupid jewel! You don't know what it's like to have him," she pressed her lips together and looked away. No. She wasn't going to get into it. She wasn't going to think about it…how dirty she felt, how was she supposed to cleanse herself from that disgusting fiend's touch?

"To have him?" Inuyasha coaxed as he got up to kneel in front of her but she wouldn't look at him still so he grasped her chin to tilt it up, "what'd he do to you? Tell me!"

"So what? If he's dead he's dead! You can't change that!"

"But if he's not then I'll tear the fucker to shreds," he growled. "I didn't want this to happen to you, Kagome. I didn't. I didn't want him to actually get a hold of you… I shouldn't have agreed to let you go."

"Inuyasha," she mumbled, finally allowing her hurt hazels to meet his determined almost shimmering golden gaze. _That_ was a look of longing—perhaps even love? It was enough to spark a possibly foolish idea in her mind but at the time she didn't care to think twice about it. So she rose up on her knees and let his red robe drop to the ground, a smile glimpsed her lips when she watched his eyes widen once more.

"Inuyasha," she whispered as she wrapped her arms around his neck to lean forward to kiss him but only briefly, he learned his lesson. Gently he pushed her away to abruptly stand up and turn his back to her.

"What are you doing?" He snapped.

"Oh, come on," she sighed as she sat down to but didn't bother to pick up his robe, "why not?"

"That's a stupid question," he growled between clenched teeth, "there's plenty of reasons!"

"Twice! _Two_ times! I have almost lost my virginity to someone I didn't want to! To disgusting situations! I'd much rather it be you then anyone else," she stated.

He tensed up at that as he shut his eyes. _That_ was not going to happen. She was still shaken from what had happened, she just needed time to cope, to think things through, then she'd realize what a _terrible_ idea that was. Because… it was a bad one, right?

Then how could it be so tempting for him to take up? The worst ideas always were.

"Inuyasha," she groaned as she grabbed one of his hands and tugged in hopes of him looking back at her, "hey! Don't turn your back to me!"

"You are being stupid right now, Kagome, you'll thank me later," he snapped back.

"Really? So the next time someone tries to rape me and succeeds I'll be thinking 'jee, I'm glad that Inuyasha and I didn't have sex so that I could lose my innocence to _this_ monster'?" She countered bitterly.

"See! That's what I'm talking about!" He shouted as he yanked his hand away from her while he turned to look at her, whatever well planned rant he meant to take died right there when his eyes landed on her nude body—she had that type of affect on her.

"Huh?" She pouted when she took both of his hands back into hers so she could gently caress her thumb against them while she lifted his callous skin to her lips, "I love you."

"D-Don't say that," he stuttered.

"Why?"

"Because…"

"I don't care if you feel the same way," though, she did at the same time. "I just _really_ want my first time to be with someone I love not some monster… and I love you, I do."

"But you want me dead," he couldn't help but add.

"Only a part of me, only the part that loves Damian more," she murmured back, "and even that part wouldn't be happy if anything happened to you… I love you."

"Stop," he muttered as a swirling sensation of warmth began to knot in his chest only to be contorted with a pang of something akin to betrayal.

But if they went through with it, at least if she _was_ ever raped then it wouldn't be her first time. That had to be less traumatizing._ Besides, I'll probably be dead soon… do I really want to die a virgin?_ The widely used phrase, 'life fucks us all' came to mind but it didn't help—she wanted to _actually_ be, not just metaphorically. She wanted to feel _his _warmth, _his _affection, just for a while, just long enough to live in a happy delusion that they could be blissfully in love like normal people were permitted.

They'd never be a couple, they'd never get a happily ever after—she accepted that, finally—but couldn't she pretend, just for a while?

"Inuyasha, I'd give anything right now to give me to you," she bluntly blurted to earn his astonished attention once more. "If you don't love me," she murmured as she laced her fingers with him, "just pretend you do, that's all I'm asking. Just close your eyes to pretend whatever you want… I'd be anything for you."

_Anyone_ just for one time, one release from him.

Close his eyes? _Pretend_ he's with someone else; was that what she was implying? If so it only sparked the fury he had felt earlier again. He didn't want to pretend it was anyone else he wanted it to be her—that's when his mind stopped for a moment. He _wanted_ it to be her.

What he shouldn't have down was grasp her hands back and kneel down before her. What he shouldn't have done was let her kiss him once more. What he shouldn't have done was part his lips to smoother her back. Yet, when had he ever done what he was meant to?

She probed his mouth with her tongue, pried at his lips with her own, and fiddled with his hair with her fingers with her arms wrapped around his neck. He returned the gestures and pulled her nude body against him to let his hands wander down to her still veiled rear, "Inuyasha," she whispered in a brief parting of their lips to spark a shiver down the silver haired hanyou.

Did he want this? Yes.

Should he do this? Probably not, she was still shaken, her mind had not settled from what she had to endure under the sinister demon's duress, that was the reason she threw herself at him, why she let him lower her upon the bed his red robe made for them and kiss her deeper, why she returned his fervor with her passion and her skilled lips.

It was true; if not for that incident she would not have proposed such an idea. She loved him, that hadn't anything to do with what had occurred, but she would not have broken down her will to give herself to him if not for it. If she did not feel slimy, if she did not think that she could be cleansed from her beloved Inuyasha's touch covering over the detested demon's. If she did not know that she'd feel better once Inuyasha took her. That he overstepped what Naraku had tried to do.

Those thoughts were all far back in her mind, the heated haze that fogged up her thinking—her dilemmas, her aches, her curse—to give herself for even a small amount of time to nothing but heart-throbbing pleasure. Not once did she allow his lips to leave hers while her fumbling fingers undid his top, or let his tongue slow its assault as he discarded it to the side. She wasted no time to let her hands wander down his hakama to undo all the knots—damn his clothes for being so complicated, all jeans took was unbutton, zip down and slid off; one, two, three and done.

"Wait," he should have said before abandoning them to tear with a flick of his claws her panties and throwing off the scrapes that were left. "We should talk about this," would have been the sensible thing and while he knew that all such thoughts were disposed deep down while the frenzy of his quickening blood and heightened beating chambers took hold. The feeling she gave him as she wrapped her legs around his waist to pull his hardening area closer to her slowly damping one was incomparable.

It was a rush that heated him to the core, and when she began to rub against him? It was too much; he gave way to a mild moan within her mouth as she pulled his entire body closer to her.

For but a moment their lips separated from the other so they both could appease their burning lungs, for a second they let their stares lock, their eyes wander in search for an answer within the others, and both received the same message—_continue for fuck's sake_.

His mouth collided with her soft skin at the nape of her neck to move its way down her collarbone then to one of her perky mounds—there he hesitated, should he really? Should _they_ really? His mind said no, hell no, actually, but everything else screamed a louder yes. To top it off, she must have sensed his indecision, his wavering resolve, and thus moved one her hands through his mangled tresses to stroke his ear tenderly. He faltered then, and shut his eyes to muffle a satisfying sound, then continued on to encompass her breast—the one _Naraku_ recently possessed—in his mouth to suckle and pry on her nub, allowing his hand to pay heed to the other one.

Unlike him, she didn't try to restrain herself, she didn't stifle her moans and resist her body's natural response to the pleasure he gave her. That, of course, fed his confidence and pride, to hear her make such sounds _for_ him, _because of_ him, he felt his own need throb harder, his own region stiffen from that knowledge.

One thing rang supreme—go farther, go all the way.

Her legs were already wrapped around him, parted for his entrance, so he gently untangled them from him. For a brief time she let fret fester—did he why did he stop? Until she noticed that he only did so to prepare them for the next step, the final one.

"I really want this," she assured him upon a breath, for that his golden gaze glimpsed up to her flustered face, strands of her ebony tousles gently kissed her reddened cheeks, her almost half-lidded eyes only intensified his desire.

He did, too, "I'd never let anything happen to you, Kagome,"

He didn't want it to be about preventing future pain, and for that she smiled softly as she took one of his hands that was located upon her thighs up to her hip to her chest so she could squeeze around it, "you can't protect me." Not from what truly ailed her. "No one can. You can show me that you love me, though. That'd make me happier anyway."

_I don't want to be the damsel in distress anymore…_

"I'm not pretending," he murmured. He couldn't say he loved her, she didn't expect him to, but in his own way he had, and that was all that mattered. He wasn't acting like he cared; he really did—more than just cared, too.

Her smile only grew at that as she nodded, his hand that she had taken interlaced with hers as he drew them to the side, pausing for a period of time—what would happen after the next step? The world would suddenly change, all the problems would fade away, they might not even be allowed to stay together so was it right to continue onward…?

Why not?

"I'm ready whenever you are," she just had to mumble, "Inuyasha?"

"Shut up, woman," he muttered back with his usual glare.

"Wait," she pouted right before he could make the plunge, "kiss me first."

He sighed at that but the way her thumb caressed the hand that enwrapped hers coaxed him into leaning down and doing as she said, "now?"

"Now," she agreed with a deep breath in, she mentally tried to prepare herself for the pain that would follow his penetration.

Right away, her eyes pinned shut while she bit her lip to keep from a little yelp. She did get a certain amount of comfort it, though, it was Inuyasha—not someone else, not someone she didn't want, but Inuyasha who kissed her neck as he slowly began to move around within her but not drastically, while he waited for her to relax and loosen up. She was far too tight to go any deeper.

"Kagome," he murmured once he was able to start a steady pump into her without sparking a cringe from her each time. Again, she shamelessly moaned out whenever he apparently hit somewhere pleasant. A low-throated groan left him when she started to play along; moving her hips along with him to give him added gratification.

Neither truly knew what they were doing as they proceeded on, his nibbles returned to her neck, her hands moved up his strong arms, down his built back, to his bum and even up to his ears—whichever sparked a satisfying squirm from him. She wasn't foreign to the opposite-sex's body but ignorant of sex in general, just like him—though, he was on both accounts.

Was that a little pathetic? Maybe, but he was what he was and neither human nor demon would want him and he had never met someone he desired like that. Now, a beautiful maiden submitting to him? Moan for him? Synchronizing her hip-jerks with his thrusts deeper and deeper into her tightness—and was she ever just that, freshly innocence free.

"Inuyasha," she gasped—feeding his ego—when he quickened his pounds into her, pulling out less and thrusting in more, to that she lost her matching-motions and threw her head back to moan once more as his tongue trailed her neck, to her cheek so that their lips could meet again. They swirled their tongues and smothered the other with everything they had. The heated, toiling, temptation twisted higher and higher threatening to topple over the edge.

Her name was what he called out in ecstasy; his name was what she cried out at her peek of pleasure.

Their breathes were equally hastened when they came down, his chest collided with hers as he gently collapsed upon her, not yet ready to free her from him.

A small smile lifted his lips after he took a deep breath in—she smelled of only him, he was the one inside her, he was the one that released his seeping satisfaction to fill her.

x-•°•°•-x

The slight shimmer of sunlight pried at her shut-lids enough to force her to gently groan and open them to the blinding bright rays that crept in through the battered bamboo door. With a sigh she propped herself up on her arms to glance around at the crappy cabin she was in then the man that slept soundly beside her, that deserved a smile and for a moment she did as she let her fingers slide up his abs briefly but then it faded.

She leaned over enough to give him a soft kiss upon the cheek before she slowly, silently, got up to creep across the hut and pick up his white robe and her bag. Equally as cautiously she tiptoed outside to wrap herself up in his clothing the best she could then hang her bag over her shoulder.

Briefly, she looked back at the hut as her shoulders sagged and she started off.

Inside, Inuyasha's ear twitched as his eyes slowly opened to glance to his empty side to let out a miserable sigh. Somehow, that was about he had half expected...

**{~**¤°•.¤°•.¤°•.¤°•.¤°•.**~}**

_For a flickering moment the crystal chamber glowed brighter, the rose within it almost stood straight, only to tilt farther over as another petal snapped away._

* * *

**A/N: **I enjoy KagxNar (oh, the horror, the blasphemy, I know, I know) so I had a great deal of fun with this one. I hope you enjoyed the latter half at least.

**Dog Rose**: pleasure and pain


	15. Bittersweet

†**{ A** **R**_ose_ by **A**_ny_ **O**_ther _**N**_ame_…** }**†**  
x{ **_1_**5: B**_ittersweet_** }x  
**-•°•°•-

* * *

Oh, the joys of the sunny, bright, clear-yet-slightly-smoggy sky of dear, advanced, Tokyo, how she had missed it—not. Really, she hadn't missed it at all. As odd as it was, showers she missed, some technology she missed, Tokyo, the future, and all the problems the lied in it? Nope. Not really, so that was why such a large sigh left her lips when she pulled herself out of the well to creep up the crackling stairs and look out the hut.

A terrible ache shook her at that moment and made her knees weak—there stood the three she _had_ missed an awfully large amount for so long. Her mother, slightly aged, her brother, grown into a handsome teenager, and her grandpa, looking the exact same as always. They were talking about something, all with smiles, but it was out of her hearing range. She waited there silently, watching them as they carried on their conversation before her mother hugged her brother and took her grandfather's arm to lead him down the stairs as Souta apparently headed off towards school.

She wasn't sure how long she was paralyzed there before she blinked away the sting and stun to sneak out of the hut and over to the house, hidden keys would have been foolish and something they did not do—but she still had the keys to the house, hidden away in her purse so she used that to enter and rush up the stairs to her room, there had to be clothes there, right? She couldn't go around in a poorly wrapped white shirt.

Again, a pulse pang through her as she opened the door to what used to be her room… that looked exactly as if she left it. What did that mean…? She took a deep breath in as she shut her eyes to hold back the tinge that threatened to bring tears out. Constantly, she tried not to think about it, about what she did, about the pain they must have gone through as she took off Inuyasha—she tried, equally as hard if not more, to not think about him, to not think about the fact that she no longer had a jewel shard, that she couldn't return through the well to see him…—and slipped on a simple spring dress and a set of sandals before she left the place just as it was before.

_I'm really sorry,_ she lamented as she walked out, locking the door behind her. _Really… I am._

x-•°•°•-x

"Inuyasha," Tamako sighed with relief once she saw him walking towards them. "We've been worried, please don't do that anymore."

"Right," he nodded, "I found Kagome."

Simultaneously, they all held their breaths in anticipation, it was cruel of him to drag it out, he could tell from the strained look on the monk's face and the sadden sting in Sango's that they were worried out of their minds all night long.

"She was OK," he assured them, and just like that they all let out a sigh of relief, "I don't know where she went though, when I woke up this morning she was gone… I kinda figure she went back to her own time."

"Why?" Tamako inquired with a lifted brow and tilted head.

He just shrugged at that as he glanced away.

"And you swear, Inuyasha, that Kagome is alright?" Miroku questioned.

"Yeah, she is," sorta, maybe a little traumatized still but alive.

"Did she know what happened to Narkau?" Sango asked.

To that he shook his head, "she zapped him or something to escape but she doesn't think she killed him."

It was Tamako's turn once more, "You don't have the jewel shards so… does she?"

"Kagome didn't get them; Naraku had them the last time she checked." Before anyone else could plague him with more questions he finally let his golden gaze lock onto Tamako's, "we need to talk."

With a sharp breath in she nodded and led him away far enough that no one would be able to hear them, with a sigh she turned around to look at him, "I know what you are going to say."

"I'm sorry," he murmured, she deserved he look at her instead of staring at the floor, ashamed, like he wanted to, "Tamako, you're…"

"Great, pretty, sweet, helpful," she smiled weakly as she looked away, "but not her. And she had your heart long before I came along… I saw this coming from the start, but… I didn't want it to be true. I'm going to stay, I'm going to finish what I started, unlike her… I'm going to make sure that Naraku is dead and purify the shikon."

"Good," Inuyasha nodded, "I…"

"Why don't you have your under garment?" She couldn't help but notice; a terrible pang pulsed through her at the notion.

"Kagome's clothes were ruined," he mumbled, there was no reason to tell her the truth when it was so wrong, when it'd just hurt her more. "So I gave her that to wear, she must have taken it with her in when she left this morning. Tamako I'm… I'm…"

"You are going to go after her," that was when she couldn't keep up her farce of a faded smile and looked back to him, "I want to say that I wish you well and hope it works out, that she doesn't hurt you again, but… I can't say that honestly right now. Someday, I will, but… not now."

"I understand," he really did, she had every right to be upset with him—to hate him. "I want you to be happy."

"I'm sure I will, someday," she hoped with a smile.

"Goodbye, Tamako."

"No," she sped before he could turn away, "no, I don't… really want this to be goodbye. Just I'll see you later, when this has all passed, when I can be happy for you."

"Alright," he smiled, "tell them I've gone to see Kagome."

"Will do," she muttered before he leaped off.

x-•°•°•-x

"Honestly, I'm fine," she declared for the umpteenth time that session with a light sigh as she readjusted the strap of the dress she had just slipped on once more.

Again, the doctor gave her a curious look, an untrusting one, as he, too, sighed. "Rape is a serious crime, Higurashi-san."

"I understand that, Yamimoto-sensei," she assured, "but I _wasn't_."

Though, she could understand why it might look like that. She had scrapes on her hips, a bite mark on her shoulder—which she covered with a light, short-sleeved, cardigan, and a bruised cheek. It was only logical he thought so, it was kind he cared so much to try and get her to confess, to file a report and bring the man that had done this to her to justice. He had, apparently, been put to death already, though.

"If you say so," he murmured as he scribbled on a pad before ripping it away and handing it to her, "that's enough for a six month prescription. The pharmacist downstairs can help you with that."

"And… the other thing?" She meekly inquired, really, what could be more embarrassing, more _hideous_, then to go through such an evasive treatment just to get some pills? The thought of the whole ordeal repeating itself in six months was enough to make her shiver—that was, until she realized she would not be alive in six months, then dread swelled up.

"Here," he muttered as he picked up a small plastic cup with two pills in it to hand her, "in twenty-four hours you should take the second one, it will ensure there is no pregnancy, generally."

"Good," she managed a smile for the man before she downed the first pill and placed the other in her purse before saying goodbye and heading out of the office. Poor man, he must have felt ill-accomplished if he truly thought she had been assaulted.

"Hold on one moment," the overly-smiling pharmacist requested after she handed him the prescription and faded away in the stakes of pills behind the counter. She was probably being overly cautious, after all she would be dead in a short while so what did it matter? But it did, to her, and she had always been one to overly plan things out then just leave it as it was. What if that thing tried to do… _that_ again? What if another did? What if someone else did? What if they succeeded?

She knew the moment she arrived in her era that she had to go get the morning after pill; she just could not afford to get pregnant. She'd be dead before she could carry any child to term and, in full earnestness, she was not lying when she said she did not want any. Not with her type of life, not with all the danger, not when she could not be fully sure of protecting the child. She'd like to think that someday it was possible but 'someday' would never come for her, that she had accepted… while at the appointment another thought came to mind though, _what if_ it happened again? Something like it, at least. Why not just be prepared? Why not just get birth control just in case?

"Here you go," the chipper man declared as he returned with a stack of pills, "now, don't mix with alcohol and do not smoke. Take them at relatively the same time _every day_ to ensure full protection. Honestly, if you skip even a day… oh, and they do not become fully affective until a month after you start to take them. They do not in any way protect against any form of STDs. It is best if you start to take them after your next period to keep the cycle the same."

"Thank you," she murmured with a weak smile before she slid them into her purse and paid with the credit card her father had given her—oh, how he'd hate that, the thought almost gave her a true smile before she left.

In a month, she'd probably be dead but… just in case.

x-•°•°•-x

With a leap he was out of the well that still worked for him, sometimes he bothered to wonder why? Why did it always work—either way—for him and no one else? Without the jewel shards Kagome could not return to him—to his era—but he could go back and forth without a worry? Perhaps it was a sign of sorts, perhaps it was just fates way of saying he was supposed to be with her, that, though, was never a conclusion he came to. He never came to one. He didn't bother to wonder, it always worked, so why did it matter?

"Inuyasha!" A gleeful boy cried out as soon as he left the well, and just as quickly he ran up to the man he considered to be an older brother of sorts, "it's been so long, I was worried you weren't going to come back anymore!"

"Hey, kid," he greeted with a nod, as always, because to him he would always be a 'kid', regardless of how tall he had gotten.

"So, how's everything going with the jewel hunting and demon fighting?" he eagerly inquired, as he always did, the stories that the hanyou told him were always more interesting than any video game he buried himself in.

"Not so good," he sighed as his golden gaze flickered about, there was a faint scent that lingered about, he was right, Kagome _had_ been there.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Souta frowned, "why?"

"We think the bastard is dead."

"And… that's a bad thing?"

He shrugged a shoulder, "we didn't do it. We don't know where the jewel's gone either."

"Ah," Souta nodded, "that sucks. Do you know who did?"

He had his suspicions, but did he really need to tell Souta that? As he pondered that question he turned his gaze finally to the boy's face, had he grown attached to the kid over all the years he wandered back and forth? Yeah, there was no denying it. Didn't he deserve to know the truth, at least part of it? He thought so, "I think… Kagome might have had something to do with it."

Just as he expected, his brows furrowed together instantly, "huh?"

"Kagome… came back," Inuyasha confessed. "She's been with us for a while."

There was a long pause and obvious displeasure spewed across Souta's face before he managed a, "for how long?"

"Since shortly after the last time I came to visit."

"So about two or so months…" he murmured as his hazels shifted away, "why…? Why would she return to you guys but not us? She would have had to pass through our area to get to you? Why couldn't she even stop in to say 'hey'?"

Hurt would have been an understatement to express the tone in Souta's voice or the look on his face, even Inuyasha frowned at that, "she's back here."

"So she left you again, sounds about right," he grumbled.

"I'm here to find her, she only came back this morning, how far could she have gotten?"

A dry laugh left his lips, "you have no idea." With planes, boats, trains, and so much more? "Let's get you a hat, then," Souta sighed as he nodded towards the house.

"Inuyasha!" The joyous voice of Mrs. Higurashi proclaimed once they entered the kitchen, "it's been a while, we were starting to think you weren't coming back anymore. Let me fix you some ramen."

"That's alright," he assured her as he watched Souta rummage around before he found a blue cap and placed it on his head.

"He's going after Kagome, mom," Souta explained, "she went back to the feudal era two months ago, she just left there this morning so he's going to see if he can find her."

Her smile faltered at that then disappeared all together, "she… did? How was she?"

Not so great, but Inuyasha had to lie, "good. She was fine."

With a weak smile she nodded and returned to the dishes, the saddest of expression hidden in her eyes, it was easy to anyone who had known her what thought was pulsing through her mind—why hadn't her beloved daughter stopped by to see her?

"I think she was here," Inuyasha muttered, earning all their attention, with a few sniffles he walked up the stairs—all the Higurashis following suit—until they reached her untouched room. There, upon her bed, was his folded under-shirt. At least he got that back.

"She was here," Mrs. Higurashi awed as she walked into the room, "she must have come while we were out this morning, oh dear… we shouldn't have gone to the movies."

"Mom," Souta snapped, "she could have waited for us, she probably didn't want to see us. Inuyasha, I want to come with you."

"I can travel quicker without you, sorry," he asserted as he picked up his shirt.

"Promise me, Inuyasha," Mrs. Higurashi requested as she picked up one of the frilly pillows from Kagome's bed to squeeze, "please bring her home if you find her… please. I'm not mad at her… I just don't understand. I want to see her, she's my daughter…"

That was an iffy question that gave him great pause, she stayed away for their own sake—at least, that's what she told him—so if she returned she obviously felt she was putting them in danger… but he didn't have the heart to tell the sweet lady that had been so kind to him from the very start and often went out of her way to fix he meals no, so he had to declare, "I promise."

That just got him a sad smile, though, before he rushed off to leap from building top to building top, there were such strange scents in the air that it often screwed with his nose when he was in the strange world the Higurashis called home, but he'd be damned if that meant he'd stop searching for her. He wasn't just going to let her wander away again, _why_ did she keep insisting on doing that? _Why_ did she have to seclude herself? That was supposed to be _him_ that did that and _her_ that found him, that made him stop, why did the tables suddenly have to be turned? He truly detested it, she had to make everything so difficult but…

He kept looking for her, because he'd be haunted the rest of his life if he let her go when it was so blatantly obvious to the object the beat within his chest how much he cared for her—how much he _loved_ her, regardless if he was ready to accept that fact.

By pure luck, probably, he caught whiff of her scent so he suddenly stopped upon the building and glance down at the street below him until he thought he caught glimpse of the girl he was looking for. He knew what a _very_ odd world it was and that he, in particular, would seem strange to any of them so he watched her for a while to make sure it was, in fact, Kagome. That was when he couldn't restrain himself any longer and jumped down to land right in front of her upon the side walk with a disgruntled, "hey" as a greeting.

At first she was speechless as she stared at him, her lips parted and hands upon her bag's strap, "Inu… yasha?"

"What? You think I _wouldn't_ follow you? Or figure out where you went? Moron," he scoffed as he folded his arms in front of her chest.

Instead of addressing that, her eyes scanned across the crowd that had gathered at stare at them dumbfounded, many looked between the strangely traditionally clothed boy with even odder hair and up to the sky where he had apparently arrived from then back to him then to Kagome.

"Right," she murmured to him before taking his hand and leading him away from the scene in a bit of a hurried walk only to tug him down an alleyway once she was certain fewer people were watching, "what are you doing?" She whispered harshly then, "people don't just jump down from ten story high buildings, Inuyasha!"

"Me? What about you? Leaving like you did," he scowled back.

"I… I am sorry," she muttered, "did I hurt your feelings?"

"That's not the point," he harshly assured her, "you are such a bitch sometimes, you don't bother to tell anyone what you are up to or even _goodbye_. Sango, Shippou, Miroku, all of 'em would have wanted for you to do that but _no_ you leave without a word _again_."

She was a clever enough girl to know that the latter part of his argument, while true, was just a farce. Yes, she probably had hurt his feelings when he awoke to see she had left without a word, it would have been easier if he had simply admitted to that.

"It's better this way," she sighed, "the demons followed me there, so they'll follow me back."

"You are such a," he grumbled before he pressed his lips together to keep from cursing once more, "why do you have to do everything on your own, huh? Why can't you let us help you?"

_Why couldn't you just say 'me' like you mean? We've had sex, so why can't he just admit he _has_ feelings for me?_ She pondered but didn't dare retort, "because you can't help."

That got his brow twitching, "you think I—?"

"I think you're very strong, I think you mean well, I think you would try your very best to help me," she assured, "but you just can't. You know how to fight _your_ type of demons, not mine."

"I could learn," he asserted, did she ever think about that? That he would go out of his way to do so in order to help her?

But she hadn't considered that, so her brows bent and a frown formed, "Inuyasha…"

"Kagome," he continued as he grasped one of her hands, "I'd do that."

"What about Naraku…? What about the shikon?"

He shrugged a single shoulder to that, "he's… dead."

"Maybe, or it might be a trick, Inuyasha," she paused as she pressed her lips together and bent her brows together as she grasped his hand tightly, "I don't want you to give up what is really important to you for me. I can't let you be put in harm's way like that… not for me."

"You're," he murmured as he swallowed back the resistance, the part of him that didn't want to say anything, the part of him that was trying to cower away, but he managed, with a strained declaration, "you're important to me, too."

A soft smile shifted up her lips as she lifted his hand to press it to them, "thank you, but I still—"

"I am helping regardless," he stated stiffly, "deal with it."

Now _that_ sounded like him, "Inuyasha," she sighed.

"I promised your mom I'd bring you home."

"What?" She shrieked as she withdrew her hand and took a step back, "no! It'd be too dangerous for them if I appeared!"

"I can't believe the demons don't know they are your family," he grunted, "you are coming; you aren't going to make me a liar."

"My dad and I went to a mystic, the strongest one we could find, to have her place a spell on that house, on them, so that demons would be repelled each time they tried to harm them," it took them a year in order to find someone with that sort of skill, it was part of her agreement of leaving. She supposed, in hindsight, she should have had the same placed on the well but _how_ was she supposed to know that they could get through the thing?

"Good, then we are going back there," he stated.

"No, Inuyasha—" but he didn't allot her the time to finish, in one swift motion he threw her over his shoulder to leap up the walls of the building from top to top.

"Inuyasha!" She cried out as she tried to keep her dress from flying up and exposing her teddy-bear underwear, "stop! I'm wearing a dress! Put me down! I'm going to—!"

"You yell sit and you fall to the ground, too!" He warned as he sped up.

_Damn it… _it was too large of a fall, she wouldn't dare that. "Please, Inuyasha!"

"Just shut it," he growled back.

There was little more she could do, so she kept trying to have her flaring skirt down as he flew above the city to return her to her… home.

x-•°•°•-x

"Wait, wait, wait," she sped over and over again as she tried to tug her hand out of his grasp and walk stomp backwards, "please, wait!"

"What?" he grunted with a glare, "huh?"

"Just… give me a minute," she requested as her worried hazels shifted from him to the top of the stairs, a strenuous pull upon her chest at the notion of walking up them.

"A what?"

"Just hold on," she murmured, something must have sparked some sort of sympathy in him because he sighed and let her linger for a moment, staring up with worry.

"They miss you, they aren't mad," he assured her in attempts to comfort the obviously distraught girl.

"That doesn't make this any less difficult," she mumbled back before she just a deep breath in—she wanted to see them, didn't she? She wanted to at least get a chance to say goodbye to her family, right?

He thought he had be generous, allowing her plenty of time to merely stand there doing nothing more than staring up the stairs, so when his patience—whatever little amount he possessed—wore off, he thought it was more than reasonable to tug her and grunt, "let's go already."

"Inuyasha, wait!" She beseeched only to be ignored as he pulled her up.

"No more waiting, it's driving me crazy," he retorted.

"But—" whatever she meant to say was lost in the midst of her throat when her eyes landed on her grown younger brother.

"Kagome…" he awed.

"Souta," she murmured back as her fingers slid away from Inuyasha's so she could walk up to the boy that was her height, he had gotten so tall…

"Mom'll be happy to see you," he responded as he turned away to lead them into the house and to the kitchen, where her mother began on dinner and grandpa sat at the table reading the newspaper.

"Kagome," her mother gawked, swiftly whipping her hands upon a towel before she walked over to hug her daughter tightly, "oh, thank you, Inuyasha!"

He managed a smile for her before he exited, it was family time, he didn't need to be there to witness whatever was to come.

"Where have you been?" Her grandfather inquired staunchly, "you should know better than that."

"Sorry," she muttered as her hazels flickered between all of them until they landed on Souta, he still refused to look at her—out of all of them, it was apparent he held the grudge.

A lie spewed from her lips at that, following the vague outline that her father had given them in the letter he sent them claiming it was Kagome. She really didn't think she would get into a good high school and if she could not get into a good high school she would not get into a good college and if she did not get into a good college then wasn't her life over before it even started? As strange as that might sound, it was the standard of thought to students in Japan, hence the massive stress.

Her mother was sympathetic with her strokes through her ebony tousles; she expressed her displeasure with her decision but ultimately forgave her—she was home, that was what mattered.

"I'll prepare the dinner," her mother chimed, "a good, classic, traditional meal; tell Inuyasha there will be plenty for him, too."

"Thanks mom," she smiled before she went out into the living room where Inuyasha sat patiently, "that went better than I expected."

"Told you they weren't mad," he scoffed like the know-it-all he thought he was.

"Souta is…"

"What do you expect?" He retorted, sparking both of them to look over at him, "you leave like that and it's okay, but if I left like that I would be grounded forever."

"Souta—"

"And to top that off," he interrupted, "you went to visit everyone in the feudal era before your _own_ family. I always knew they were more important to you but…" he glanced away with a bitter frown, "still…"

"Souta, that's not true!" She assured as she stood up, "you're really important—!"

"Then why did you go see them first?"

Inuyasha held back a sigh as he stood up to slowly slink out of the room to let the siblings feud.

"Because…! It's complicated!"

"Liar!" He waved off and looked away, "I don't care, I bet you'll be gone in two days. What's it matter?"

"Souta," she murmured as she reached out to grab his hand to keep him from leaving, "I am a liar… that's the truth. I lied to mom, I lied in that letter, I lied about it all but… but if you can keep a secret I'll tell you the truth."

She wanted to, desperately, he was her _little_ brother, they were close though they often fought, it was her job to protect him but she also knew he deserved to know the truth about their father. If he told their mom then it would only hurt her, Souta though… it would make such a difference. So she sat Souta down and told him the full truth, leaving out only one detail—the curse.

But, the sole condition was that he _never tell_ their mother. He eagerly agreed and ate up every story she had to share with Souta about their dear... deceased, dad.

x-•°•°•-x

"Isn't food here so much better?" Kagome teased as she sat down next to Inuyasha outside the house right at dusk, "is that why you kept visiting them?"

"I like your family," he replied in a murmur, "but the food was a factor, too."

"You are a really sweet," she smiled as she wrapped her arms around one of his, intentionally not looking at his sure-to-be-red face for his pride's sake. "You just don't admit that fact."

"Keh, I don't know what you are talking about," he sped to defend himself.

"Of course not," she mumbled once she leaned her head against his shoulder. "I'm glad I got to see them before…"

"Before?" Inuyasha snapped as his golden gaze shifted to her, "before _what_?"

"What do you think we should do next? Huh?" She inquired as she sat up to meet his stare, "what is it exactly you believe will happen? That you'll magically make everything okay? That's not how things work. This… war or whatever it is, between the demons from hell and the resistance it's… never going to stop. I can't go back to the past, not when that demon will just keep following me. Everything I need to stop it, to send it back to hell, is here not there."

"Then I'm staying here with you," he simply stated.

A subtle smile shifted up her lips briefly before they disappeared, "you'll _hate_ it here. You'd be so confused. You'd—"

"You just want me to leave," he grumbled, "I ain't."

"Inuyasha—"

"I'm not leaving you," he declared with a firm tighten of his brows, "got it?"

She could try to ditch him, she would surely succeed, but… she didn't want to do that, she_ wanted_ him there, so she sighed, nodded, and leaned forward to kiss him gently upon the lips before she let her head rest upon his shoulder once more to look at the fading maroon and orange sky.

"I love you," she whispered to spark a twinge in his chest, "and I probably won't be getting rid of you, huh?"

"No."

"So I should probably tell you," she drew out before she sighed, "that I… about, well, you see…"

"Kagome," he grumbled, "just spit it out."

"I may be… cursed," she confessed with a cringe, in a moment he shot up to walk in front of her, "Inuyasha—"

"Cursed, like how?" He interrupted, "how bad? What'll happen? What _has_ happened?"

"Inuyasha, settle down," Kagome requested only to witness his fiery glare.

"How long have you been under a curse?" He growled, "why didn't you tell me sooner!"

"Because it's pretty useless!" She shouted back as she jumped up, "look, it's bad, I admit that… and I will die… probably soon," she murmured to glance between him and the house to make sure no one was there.

"What?" he snapped, "_what_?"

"I…" she shrugged, "there's nothing to be done. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner but… I just hate to talk about it. I've tried _everything_ in the book—I mean, everywhere, and I can't figure out how to undo it. That's why I had the shikon shards with me, they stopped it," she sighed as she lifted her hand to her chest, "but now that they're gone… I don't know how long I have before I'm dead."

"You're not going to talk like that," Inuyasha ordered as he grabbed her upper arms to jerk her to look at him, "I'm going to figure out something."

She smiled for his sake and bit back her 'you can't', again, for his sake.

"There's not a whole lot that we can do, Inuyasha," she murmured as she took his hands into hers.

"That's not true," a debonair declaration demanded their attention. They looked at each other for a moment before they turned to look at the handsome, violet eyed man with raven hair. "We've got an idea."

"What do you think we've been up to during your absence, Kagome?" a heavy Australian accented, mahogany eyed, brunet beauty inquired as she folded her arms to emphasize her curvy, perfect, figure.

x-•°•°•-x

"She went back down the rabbit hole," Kikyou cooed as she stared down the well as she leaned forward while her chocolate orbs shifted up to the rare blank-faced Damian, "what do we do, master?"

"We follow her, obviously," he rejoined as his auburn stare glanced up to her then back down, "how bothersome. She has probably gone back to hide within the resistance front. That's fine, though, we need to return."

"Yes, your idea is brilliant; master," she chimed with a gracious grin, "as always, but what about her friends here? The monk and slayer and all others?"

"Leave them," he sighed as he looked away and towards the village in the far distance, "it's only fun to kill them in front of her. We can use them as leverage later."

"So clever, master," she praised, "but when aren't you?"

"You are a kiss-ass, but that is fine," he assured as he placed his hands upon the well, "shall we go?"

"Of course, my love."

"Ladies first," he nodded, and just like that she jumped over the side for him to follow her down, down, down.

**{~**¤°•.¤°•.¤°•.¤°•.¤°•.**~}**

_A dark aura swirled around the castle high, high, high above the hill. Over the moat, through the grand gate, guided around the constant corridors, up the spiraling stairs and to the door to the room empty yet filled with an ebony mass was hidden the glistening glow of the glass container that held the red rose that lost another petal._

* * *

**Bittersweet: **_truth_


	16. Adam's Needle

†**{ A** **R**_ose_ by **A**_ny_ **O**_ther _**N**_ame_…** }**†**  
x{ **_1_**6: A**_dam's _**N**_eedle_** }x  
**-•°•°•-

* * *

The ebony tousled damsel stared dumbfounded at the duo that stood not too far from her and the hanyou whose hands she held; he shared a similar gap of bewilderment. Finally, she managed to form a coaxed, "Minoru… Remie?"

"Kagome," the male mimicked as he walked forward with a friendly smile as his violets ventured up and down the funny clothed man, "are those ears real?"

"Doggie," the mahogany eyed girl gleefully proclaimed as he tweaked his triangle white furs.

"Hey!" Inuyasha growled, swiftly swatting the girl's hands away, "get away from me!"

"Oh my God! They are real!" The girl gawked as her mahoganies moved to Kagome, "what the fuck, girlie?"

"Remie," she sighed as she slid her hand down her face and shook her head, "settle down, both of you."

"Shall we get to the point, beautiful?" Minoru, the violet eyed male, inquired.

"Go right ahead, love," she insisted with a roll of her hand to give him the lead and a slight bow of her head.

"Kagome-chan," he affectionately added as he took her hands into his, ignoring the inflamed aura that sparked from the hanyou beside him, "we have found the key to your dilemma."

"And… what is my dilemma?" She wryly asked.

"The curse, darling, you can't possibly think that you could have hidden that from us, now could you?" He taunted as the Australian took over.

"Kagome, we figured it out from the get-go, you scared us with your disappearance act!" She laughed as she patted her harshly on the back, "where'd Damian and you run off to? Where's that sexy man, anyway?"

Promptly, her hazels shifted away as she bit her bottom lip, apparently, for the two of them, that was sign enough. Minoru's hands slipped away and Remie stepped to the side, both silently and almost awe-struck as they looked from her to each other, "Kagome… we… I'm so sorry."

"Honey, we are _so_ sorry," Remie enforced as she wrapped her arms around the slightly shorter girl to hug tightly, "we will not let the same happen to you. We know how to find the source."

"You… do?" She murmured, "how?"

"Trust us," Minoru requested with a wink and a thumbs up, "we've got a trinket that will be able to locate it. Once we find it, we'll fix everything."

"What _trinket_?" Kagome questioned.

"That would be me," Remie bragged as she slung her arm around her shoulder, "you know I can find any paranormal related item out there."

"What's going on?" Inuyasha grumbled, finally reminding the trio that he was still there. "Is that a good thing? Is Kagome going to be okay?"

"Who is this guy?" Remie whispered into her friend's ear, "what's with the head-gear?"

"Inuyasha," Kagome sighed as she shrugged Remie off, "this is Remie and Minoru, you guys, this is Inuyasha. He's my friend, so leave him alone."

"Fine, fine," Minoru waved off as his eyes shifted between the two before sticking with the odd-one-out, "we will be able to help Kagome, that's what we are saying. Only problem is, we know for a fact this thing is not in Japan so we've gotta go."

"We have reason to believe it'd be good to start searching in Europe," Remie announced.

"And what is that 'reason'?" She countered as she folded her arm and sighed, _Europe_ was not a small land to search. It would have been one thing if they said just a country but an entire continent?

"Uh, well," Remie began before she cleared her throat and locked eyes with her companion.

"Psychic," Kagome grumbled, "that is it, isn't it?"

Reluctantly, they nodded, "but, Kagome—"

"It's fine," she assured as she lifted a hand, "it's fine… it's not like I have a whole lot of choices here."

"Then we should leave as soon as possible," Minoru suggested.

"Yeah, I—"

"Leave to where?" Inuyasha interrupted once more, very little of what they said made sense and when the other girl talked it took him a bit to fully under with her completely foreign accent, so he lifted a brow as his confused golden gaze flickered between all of them.

"It's alright, Inuyasha, don't worry about it," Kagome requested.

"I'm coming," he stated, "I don't care what you say, I'm not letting you ditch me again."

"Inuyasha…" she sighed before she took a step closer to him, "I guess we could argue over it for a while but I have a feeling you aren't going to give up, huh?"

"Nope," he affirmed as he folded his arms.

"And even if I use _that_ word to try and get away I doubt it'll work, huh?"

"No," he shook his head.

"And you'll have your eyes on me all the time, huh?"

"Yep," he nodded, so she sighed once more and gave in, what else could she do?

_I want him to be with me…_ she could at least be truthful in her thoughts, "okay, you can come with. You'll be really lost and stuff but I'll try my best to explain things to you along the way—"

"If we are going to go somewhere for a long while and not go back to the Feudal Era we need to go tell Miroku and Sango, at the very least, what we're up to. They didn't really seem to trust me when I said you were okay and you owe it to them to say goodbye for once," he grunted.

"Yeah," she supposed with a sigh as her hazels shifted away. "I do, don't I?"

"In all earnestness," Minoru muttered, "we should leave sooner rather than later, there really is only so long we can linger in Japan without _it_ figuring out where we are."

"I know," Kagome mumbled as her hand took one of Inuyasha's, "but I still need to go somewhere before we leave, I'll find you guys when I get back."

"If it's really that important," Remie shrugged as she folded her arms, "then go for it."

"Thanks," she managed a smile as she began to tug Inuyasha towards her home, "I really need to tell my family where I am going."

"They aren't going to like this," Inuyasha murmured.

"Yeah," she grumbled, "I know."

x-•°•°•-x

It was so true that they disliked the notion of her leaving so soon after her rapturous return. Her grandfather grunted and scoffed, her mother merely frowned but reluctantly agreed _only_ with the promise that she would come the next day at most, but it was her brother's reluctance to speak that shook her to her soul, that forced her to take him to the side before she left.

"Souta…? You are still mad, aren't you?" She inquired meekly, the idea of her younger brother holding a grudge against her was too much. She couldn't die with that, her conscious was weighed down enough.

"Yeah," Souta sighed as his similar hazels shifted over her bleak façade, "but maybe I'll get over it soon… I just need time, Kagome. It's just a lot to process… I mean, demons?" He tried to smile but failed, "in our time? Dad dying but not really? All the other stuff, it's just… mind boggling. I need time. I want to forgive you, I really do. I want things to be like they were… but…"

"I understand," she couldn't be so selfish to expect that all forgave her. Their mother was too kind, their grandpa too senile, it was only reasonable. It was just hard to accept. "Can I give you a quick kiss?"

"What?" he squealed but it was too late to protest, she leaned down to give him a peck on the forehead before retracting with her bright smile. "K-Kagome," he complained and pushed her away as any annoyed teenager would.

"I'll see you soon," Kagome laughed lightly before turning and trotting off to find the hanyou that uncharacteristically patiently waited for her by the well. "Ready?"

He merely nodded at that before he reached out his hand for hers, which she eagerly gave him. Just to make sure they were not parted, that one made it to the side while the other did not, he wrapped an arm around her as they leaped in to hold her close through the glistening blue glow that led them to the world that only one could ever call home.

"It looks like it's going to rain," she muttered once she saw the hazy, gray night sky without a chance of the shimmer of stars breaking through.

"So let's get to the village quickly," he suggested as he grasped her wrist to lug her onto his back without her permission and leaped up. He could have rushed them to their destination but they needn't, he didn't want to, he waited for her to have her feet securely placed on the ground. The flash of her classic smile was given to him, a fleeting flutter in his chest made his blood rush, before she took his hand into hers to start their stroll through the forest.

Silence seeped into their journey but it was not all together unpleasant, words didn't need to be spared, nothing explained, they merely enjoyed the others company.

"Do you think they are asleep? It is sort of late," Kagome questioned, breaking the emptiness once they reached the sight of huts, some glowed with dim fires, others were completely black.

"I doubt it," he replied, there was too much for them to wonder about. Was Naraku truly dead? Was Kagome alright? _What_ was going on? Where was the shikon? There was no room for sleep in the midst of all that.

He knew the answer to one, and that was enough to appease the concern over the others—those ones that used to be vital to him.

Just as he supposed, Kaede's hut was one of the few that was still lit from within, and all of the patrons inside were wide awake.

"Kagome," Miroku contently greeted, "I am so glad to see you."

"Sorry for disappearing on you guys like I did," she smiled meekly as she walked over to sit beside the monk, "again…"

"You are back now," Sango stated, "that's what matters."

"Back to say goodbye," she whispered as her hazels averted his violets for the failing fire, "I need to go back to my era for a while."

"Did you kill Naraku?" Miroku questioned quickly as he showed her his unclothed hand, "my hand… the curse is gone."

"I don't think did," she earnestly responded, "I mean… I hurt him a lot but I doubt I killed him."

"Perhaps he really _is_," Sango added, "we were far from the only ones that wanted Naraku dead. Maybe someone took advantage of her vulnerability at that moment. I'll go see if Kohaku and the others know anything soon."

"I hope he is," Kagome muttered.

"He better be," Inuyasha grunted as he sat down next to Sango.

"Well… either way, my curse is gone apparently," Miroku mused as he clenched his hand multiple times, as if it was magic. "I am going to return to my son." He terribly missed him, barley a month away and it felt like an eternity.

"That's sounds like a good idea, Miroku-sama," Tamako commented, "I am going to go in search of the shikon. It has to be out there still, right? And it would be awful if it ended up in the wrong person's hands."

"I'll go with you," Sango suggested, "I'm sure somewhere along the way we will discover what happened to Naraku."

"You never know, maybe Rensei and the others found him," Tamako theorized.

That was what they all hoped but all knew in the pit of their guts was not the truth.

x-•°•°•-x

Talk was scarce amongst all as they sat there staring at the fire, all their minds boggled with worries—some personal, some forever unspoken, and some shared. It was first the pious priestesses that decided they would go to sleep, then the silent slayer, and finally the no-longer mischievous monk. When she was nearly certain they were all sent to their own slumber lands she picked up her bag and quietly crept out of the hut with a cup of tea.

It took little time for her to find the container with four rows—each a new color—and seven columns, she popped out only the second pill, a white shaded one, to place on her tongue and slow back her tea.

"What are you doing?" Caused her to jump and drop her cup, small splashes of split tea sprayed her exposed ankles before she turned around to see a curiously suspicious Inuyasha linger there, "what was that?"

"Nothing," she assured as she let the container drop back into her purse with a nervous smile.

"Didn't look like nothing," he kept up as he took a step towards her, which sparked her to take one back.

"Really, don't worry about it, it's nothing," she assured with a wave of her hand before she tried to advance towards the hut only to be stopped by his blockade.

"Kagome," he grumbled, "you better tell me what's going on, damn it."

"It's just a pill," she asserted with a shrug, "nothing to worry about."

"What's a pill?" He questioned with a cocked brow.

"Medicine," she absently admitted only to instantly regret the choice of words.

"What?" He sped, "are you sick, too? What's going on? Why didn't you tell me?" On top of being cursed, she had to endure an illness, too? How could he save a girl so deep in problems?

"No, no," Kagome assured as she shook her hands, "I'm fine it's um… it's uh… vitamins."

"Vitamins?" He muttered, "what's that?"

"Just nutritional stuff that helps you not got sick and to be healthy," she lied through her teeth as she tried once more to step around him only to be interfered with again.

"You're lying," Inuyasha declared with narrowed eyes, "I can tell from your voice. You aren't a very good liar, Kagome."

_Really? I think I'm pretty good,_ she had done plenty of that over the years but perhaps…? Inuyasha simply knew her better than anyone else she had tried to fraud with false realities? "No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are," he countered as he caught her upper arm to keep her there, "tell me the truth, _now_."

Multiple times she opened her mouth only to shut it, which just angered the hot-headed hanyou all the more.

"Damn it, Kagome," he growled, "when we get back I'll just tell you mom or brother or something and then they'll—"

"No!" She shouted before covering him mouth and letting her hazels move back to the hushed hut.

"It's something real bad… isn't it?" Why else would such fear appear on her face from the mere notion of her mother finding out?

_The last thing my family needs to know is that I'm sexual active… _she shivered at the thought before sighing and looking to the ground, "it's… truthfully… it's… birth control. Nothing bad, tons of teens and other girls my age are on it. Hell, a lot of older ladies, too."

"Birth… control?" Inuyasha tried out on his own tongue as bafflement spewed across his face, "what's that for?"

_Isn't the name self-explanatory?_ But she still meekly found a way to look up at him, "you see… it's… a way to prevent pre…" why was it so hard to tell him? Why did she feel all the blood rush to her cheeks? It wasn't like they _hadn't_ done the dirty deed together but if she told him that she was _on_ birth control wouldn't it be reasonable for him to assume she planned for them to do it again? _Do I?_ she questioned as he glanced away. Was that the real reason why she had gotten them?

"Kagome, spit it out," Inuyasha ordered as he folded his arms upon his chest. "Now."

"It's to prevent," she paused briefly before finally admitting it, "pregnancies. If… I were to… you know, then I wouldn't get pregnant. It's just… now is not the time for me to be thinking about something like that and, beside," she laughed awkwardly to try and break free from the funny feeling, "I'm only twenty, I really shouldn't be having kids or anything like that yet."

"Oh," he murmured while something akin to surprise surfaced. She was far too embarrassed about what she had just said, clearly, to have willingly made that up as a lie so… it was the truth? But if she was taking that stuff did it mean she wanted to… again?

Gods, he hoped so.

"Don't get any funny ideas," Kagome ordered swiftly as she pointed a finger of accusation at him, "got it? We are going back into that hut with all our friends and going to sleep, Inuyasha."

"Keh," he scoffed as he looked away with his classic defiant appearance, "I wasn't thinkin' nothin', woman."

"Mm-hm," she huffed before she finally managed to step by him. For a moment, she paused, before she reached out to tug on his red robe, "come on, Inuyasha. We are leaving tomorrow, well, at least I am—"

"I'm coming with you," he stated right away as he turned around, "you ain't getting rid of me that easily."

"Good," she smiled softly, sparking another tingle to cause his chest to tighten up while her hand slid down his fabric to find his hand, "I'd hate for that to happen."

It was silly for stun to be on his face like it was but he couldn't seem to help it, each time her real smile—the one he had so adored, though never admitted it—resurfaced it managed to wreak havoc on his heart, he felt it beat faster to send all the blood to his cheeks even when she gave him a goodnight kiss before entering the hut before him.

It was _stupid_, after all he had done with her, how intimate they had once became, why did such a small gesture still make him feel wanton? After she was through the bamboo door he barely noticed himself lift his hand up to touch his cheek. It wasn't until a flash of lightning and a pulse of thunder that he snapped out of it.

It took longer for the storm to reach them then they had thought… but it unavoidable, unchangeable, no matter how much one was displeased with it, nature would always run its course. The violent, thunderous, pouring, storm would arrive to pound down on them.

_Always._

x-•°•°•-x

"Tamako-san," Kagome murmured as she cautiously walked around a muddy puddle to see the blank-faced redheaded girl who stared out into the finally free sky.

"What?" She sighed, not bothering to turn her auburn gaze to the spring-flora-dress wearing Kagome as she walked up to her side.

"I…" she swallowed as she glanced away; it was true she never bounded with the girl but she hadn't any malice towards her. Regardless if either ever wished to admit it, they shared a kinship. Kagome knew how she felt, it had to be like what she experienced each time she wanted Inuyasha run off to see Kikyou except… that time, she was Kikyou and Tamako was her. That pain she never wished to bestow on another, particular one that had never did her any harm, on the contrary, someone who had be kind to her when no one else was.

Someone she had lied to, she could still hear her words echoing in her head, "_Tamako-san, I respect you, too, and… and I have no intention of restoring our former relationship."_

But she had done it… she stole him away.

"I'm so sor—"

"I don't want to hear it, Kagome-san," Tamako flatly stated as her gaze flickered to her momentarily. "What you did was wrong, convincing, and deceitful. You are a liar. All I hope for is that you do not shatter Inuyasha's heart once more."

She meekly parted her lips to reply but what defense did she have? None… it was all true.

"He loves you," she muttered as she turned away to start off, only to stop and glance back at her with the sternest stare Kagome had ever witnessed, "don't you dare hurt him again, Kagome-san."

Then there was nothing more, she looked forward and walked away.

_I really don't want to…_ she sighed as she lifted her hand up to her chest, _but I think it's unavoidable at this point…_

Somehow, the harsh yet truthful words of Tamako managed to throw her back to a mild depression which opened the flood gates for all her worries as she walked absent minded around the village, jumping over puddles here and there so not to muddy up her sandals, and enjoying the smell of the land just after the rain the best she could…

Would… Damian be alright? Could she… save him?

Was it worth Inuyasha? Would it still work if they were not in the feudal era? That had been the main reason why she left after their night of intimacy, to be withdrawn from the temptation to sacrifice him for her brother's sake. But… he had followed her, letting that notion linger over her all the more.

_Damian…_ it always sent a pulse of pain through her heart at the thought. _Lilith _so _would kill me…_

"Kagome-chan!" That caught her intention instantly, it had been so long since she heard that voice call for like that, swiftly a smile slipped up her lips.

"Sango-chan," she greeted as the slayer walked up to her.

"We're leaving now; Tamako and I are going to go in search of the shikon."

"And Miroku?"

"We're going to escort him back to see Michio and pick up Shippou while we are there."

She nodded at that, "tell him bye for me."

"So… you really don't think you'll be returning?" Sango frowned, "I would have liked the chance to make up for my behavior."

"Don't worry about it," Kagome assured as she waved the topic off and opened her arms, "I might be back, it all depends on if it works out."

To that, her friend smiled and nod before the girl from the future embraced her momentarily. "I will see you soon then."

"Sure," Kagome chimed, though the lie tasted terrible upon her tongue.

She knew, in her cursed heart, that she would never be returning… that she'd never see her friend again.

Those were the thoughts that fluttered her mind as she sat upon the well's edge waiting for Inuyasha to arrive to take her home. When she heard the crinkle of footsteps she glanced up to see a monk instead of a hanyou, though. "Miroku…?"

"You were honestly going to leave without saying a word to me?" He inquired with his gentle grin while he made his way over to sit down next to her, "how Kagome like."

"Ouch," she smiled faintly, "it's hard… to say goodbye."

"It's not goodbye," Miroku assured as he placed an arm over her shoulder to pull her towards him so her head could rest on his shoulder, "it's only temporary. You and Inuyasha will return."

"Yeah," she murmured.

"You do not sound very confident," Miroku accused, "I have faith in the both of you to fix whatever it is your problem happens to be. Inuyasha would _never_ allow any harm to come to you."

_This time Inuyasha _can't _save me_, retorted her mind.

"Michio would be ever so sad if his auntie Kagome never returned, too," Miroku added to allow a true smile to surface on the poor maiden's face.

"You and Sango never talked, huh?"

"You are changing the subject again," he countered.

"I'll take that as a no," she sighed as she sat up straight, "you're going to regret it."

"We all have regrets," Miroku mused, "some are best left as they are. If we were to… talk, if we were to change how things are now, we may only form a new one, a worse one. You say that I'll always wonder 'what if'? And that is true, but if we were to… alter what we have already set into motion, if we were to go back to the way things once were, we would wonder then, too, 'what if' we never changed? Would I be happier? Would _she_ be happier? And I know the answer to that, I know she would."

"Miroku…"

For a moment, they locked their eyes with one another, her not able to find a crack in his logic, him not able to say 'goodbye'.

"Ready?" Inuyasha interrupted as he walked up to them, stopping briefly to glance between the two, "what's going on?"

"Merely saying goodbye," Miroku sighed as he stood up, "you bring her back safe now, Inuyasha."

"Of course I will," Inuyasha scoffed.

"Bye, Miroku," she murmured with a fleeting smile. She did desire to embrace him, tightly even, but then that would make it too real. The goodbye would be finalized… she didn't want to acknowledge that she'd never see him again.

But she knew…

"Let's go, Kagome," Inuyasha impatiently nudged as he glanced down the well.

"Right," she whispered as she turned around to take hold of Inuyasha, "let's… go."

x-•°•°•-x

Disgust was too gentle of a word to use, revulsion rippled down the damsel's dainty face once they had entered the kitchen, a gag formed in her throat as her stomach turned threatening to heave out her breakfast all over the floor.

There was no sight worse than the one she witnessed… the horror would give her nightmares for certain. How was she meant to deal with this on top of everything else? Could life cease to throw her cruelties?

Inuyasha, too, seemed to react the same way to the sinister sight as he wrinkled his nose and looked away.

There, at the counter, was her mother making lunch with Minoru's add as he threw flattering phrases around, charming her enough to receive a symphony of giggles every once and a while. To make it worse, at the table sat Remie right next to Souta as she told him a horde of inappropriate stories about the way to _please_ a woman. Her brother was red in the cheeks but obviously interested to hear all Remie's personal triumphs, sensations, and tricks.

"I'm going to throw up," Kagome muttered as she covered her mouth and swiftly exited the kitchen. One thing she never wanted to witness was a friend barely five years her senior hitting on her mother. On her way out, though, she grasped the collar of Remei's designer shirt to yank her out into the living room with her.

"Hey!" Her friend protested.

"Don't tell my _little_ brother about that stuff!" Kagome shrieked, "jeez, Remie, I expect better from you!"

"Really?" Remie laughed, flaunting the falseness of that statement in her comrade's face.

"I guess not," really, she expected just _that_ from her but that didn't mean she had to approve or allow it to continue. "Stop it, seriously."

"What? It can't be helped if your not-so-little-anymore brother needed advice on how to woo his girlfriend," Remie shrugged with an arrogant smirk, "of course _I_ know just how to fix his problems."

"Souta has a girlfriend…?" Kagome murmured.

"Yep, she's really cute; too, he showed me a picture of her. She's a grade below and goes to the same high school. Your brother's got game, Kagome."

"What did you tell them?" she sighed, "huh?"

"That we were friends of yours, that we all met in a hostel in Europe and have been friends ever since, real vague stuff, don't worry about it."

"Good, good," Kagome nodded as her gaze flickered back towards the kitchen, "_what_ is Minoru doing?"

"Ah, it's harmless," Remie assured with another shrug, "don't worry about it."

"It's disgusting!"

"So cute," she teased with a tug on her cheek, "our little Kagome's defensive of her mommy."

She simply sighed at that, it was so difficult to deal with the duo sometimes… but without them, she'd be lost.

x-•°•°•-x

"We're going to leave tomorrow," she declared as she stared up at the ceiling of the room she had not slept in for what felt like an eternity. Back then… when the pink and frilly room used to be her safe haven, she was a different girl. Innocent, naïve, trusting… now, she was only partially any of those things, if at any of them at all.

"Alright," Inuyasha replied with his back to the bottom post of her bed while he sat upon the ground.

Her hands finally stopped fiddling with the fat old cat that her family still had to look down at the boy who sat with his back to her, not out of resentment, she knew. They had wandered up to her room some time after dinner to be alone, so she could explain the plans for tomorrow to him without worries of her mother or grandfather over hearing. After that, they had just lingered peacefully in the silence that had fallen over them. A slight smile shifted up her lips as she crawled down to lie upon her stomach and rest her chin in her hand as she tweaked at one of his ears.

"Kagome," he growled to knock her hand away.

"Why do you always sleep sitting up? It's a wonder you ever get any rest," she commented as her finger shifted from his fluffy ear to his tangled tresses, "wouldn't you rather sleep on the bed?"

"I like sleeping like this," he countered, urging himself not to lean into her gentle touch and playful fingers.

"So you can be ready if someone attacks?" She teased before she became casually serious, "it was out of necessity you learned to sleep like that, huh? You had a tough time growing up, now that your dad is back, though, maybe…"

"I don't want to talk about that," he stated stiffly. He hadn't seen his supposed father since that time with Sesshomaru and the guy didn't even know who he was so what did it matter?

"Poor Inuyasha," she pouted before leaning forward to give him a kiss on the cheek, as always it automatically got him flustered, "aw, how cute!" Obviously, he meant to protest to that but the comment only made his muddled mind more stunned and cheeks shift to a deeper hue of red.

"Don't worry, I'll leave you alone," Kagome assured as she patted him on the shoulder before rolling off the bed to walk to the door and let Buyo out, once she shut the door again she began to unzip the side of her dress and discard her cardigan.

His wide eyes couldn't help but followed her to the closest as she let her dress slip to the floor to expose ample skin for his un-blinking stare to shift over, "wh.. what are you doing?"

"Oh, you've seen it all, Inuyasha," Kagome stated as un-hocked her bra to let it fall to the floor. She couldn't help but glance over her shoulder to see him staring at her, _it's nice to know, I guess, that he's still so easily amused._

His golden gaze shifted up to meet her hazels, instantly he looked away bashfully. A splendid smile swung up her lips at that as she looked back to her closet to pull out an oversized T-shirt out, she slid it on as she walked back to her bed, "are you sure you want to sleep like that?"

"Yeah…" he murmured back.

Again, she crawled down to the end of her bed to wrap her arms around his neck, "you needn't be embarrassed, Inuyasha."

"I ain't," he retorted.

"Alright, alright," god forbid she infringe on his pride. She glided one of her hands up his neck to light take his chin and tilt his face towards her, she had an innocent intention, a mere peck on the lips goodnight instead of another kiss on the cheek. The idea of the cute fluster he got from just the cheek made the idea of his reaction to her lips to his would spark something just as amusing.

But something else was ignited as she pulled away, their stares shifted around the others before he shifted to make it easier to reach her, she leaned down once more. Their lips pressed tighter to the others before her hands grasped his neck as he twirled around to kneel on the bed post, that was when their kiss deepened. She scooted back until she could lie on the bed with him looming over her.

She lifted herself as he pulled off the old shirt she had just slipped on, her hands worked to discard his red robe as his lips moved down to her neck, he undid his under garment quicker then she could before their mouths meshed once more as their chests met.

With each move came a small creek as she parted her legs to wrap them around his, when he shifted his weight from one side to the other, when she shifted around to pull him closer, to alter the direction of their kiss.

"Wait," she protested as she pushed him away, "wait…"

"Why?" he murmured.

"The bed," she sighed as her fingers traced his cheek to his shoulder and down one of his beds, "it's too creaky. The last thing I need is my mom or brother catching me in a compromising position…"

"Okay," he nodded, that made some sense, but that didn't make them alter their position or her eyes from locking with his or the scent of her rising arousal from reaching his nostrils only to increase his own. To test out her seriousness he leaned down to kiss her neck gently, when she leaned her head away for more exposures he got the right answer—go ahead.

He traced his way down to her collarbone then further to her mounds, he encompassed one to tug and suck upon as his hand shifted down to rub her below through her panties. She bit her lips together to keep from moaning aloud as one of her hands tangled itself in her fingers in his hair as her other grasped his arm. The damn creaking intensified as she swayed her hips along with his motion. A throbbing yearning pulsed through her, warming her up as he increased his speed.

"Inuyasha," she gasped.

That inspired him to cease only to start to pull off her underwear but it was long enough for her senses to slam down on her, reluctantly she groaned as she pushed him away again. "Wait…"

"Again?" He sighed.

"Really… we can't."

"If it's the bed…" his eyes finished his thought for him as they shifted to the ground.

"I just… feel bad about doing this… under my mom's roof after I disappeared on them for so long. It's seems really disrespectful."

"More so than disappearing?" Inuyasha grumbled.

"I just can't," even if they were on the floor and were as quiet as could be her mother slept down the hall, her brother next door, her grandfather below… "I really would if not for the fact that we're here… if that makes it any easier."

It made it worse, actually, but he sighed and shifted off of her onto his side.

"Sleep with me," she requested with a pout as she kicked the sheets up so she could pull it over them, "please?"

It was too hard to say no so he just didn't and lied down and opened his arms for her to scot in and rest against him. Really, he disliked to sleep lying down. He had grown accustom to the way he did it but to keep her in his arms all night he'd endure. It seemed like a sweet notion but in reality it all came down to one simple fact—he did _not_ trust her. If he didn't hold her close there was a good chance she'd wake up before him_—on purpose—_to leave without him.

That was why he hadn't any intention of sleeping that night.

Time ticked on, her breathing slowed and she fully relaxed against him to fall asleep, her gentle and warm breath followed a pattern that he could count. He couldn't help but lull him to sleep…

x-•°•°•-x

The flicker of sunlight from the window woke in him the next; reluctantly he opened his eyes to register what he felt.

Nothing.

No warm body within his arms, no soft breath against his chest, no other figure on the bed. As soon as all that clicked he sat up swiftly and quickly put his robes to run down the stairs—her scent was stale in the house.

She… did it again.

What the hell was wrong with him? He should have known better to then to fall sleep!

"Inuyasha!" Mrs. Higurashi called out, he jerked to the side to find rush into the kitchen, "good morning, what's wrong?"

"Where's Kagome?" He quickly questioned.

"She went out shopping with her friends, don't worry she promised she'd come back, so sit down, I made a special breakfast for the boy that brought me my daughter back." She requested as she walked over to the table to pull out a chair for him, "please, Inuyasha?"

It was hard for him to say no to her, for some reason, so he cautiously did as she asked to brood over the bitch that probably was not going to return. She tricked him… again. Another morning he woke up without her there… it made his blood boil and heart ache all at once.

"Why do you trust her?" Inuyasha inquired as his gaze flickered up to Mrs. Higurashi as she set his breakfast down in front of him.

Her subtle smile surfaced as she placed a hand on his shoulder, "things only get more complicated and everyone is miserable without trust. She promised me," she patted him as she walked back to clean up her mess, "she'll be back, just have a little faith in her."

He didn't want to… not by any means, but he forced the meal down. His eyes locked onto the clock on the wall, he didn't have a complete grasp on time as they knew it—minutes, hours, all that nonsense—but he understood that the small hand ticking away meant more and more time had passed. He watched the long hand shift halfway across the surface.

She wasn't coming back…

"I'm going to go looking for her," Inuyasha stated as he stood up to walk to the front door.

"Inuyasha," he heard Mrs. Higurashi complain but that was all she'd do, perhaps that faith of hers had begun to waver, too?

Right before he reached the door it opened, almost hitting him in the nose as he leaned back, so the two that had appeared before could walk in and a giggling girl he knew so well—all had an ample amount of bags on their arms.

"Inuyasha," Kagome chimed, "I would have woken you up but you looked so peaceful. Plus, you would really hate shopping, if you had a list of things you detested I'm certain that would earn itself the top post."

"Huh?" He muttered with a cocked brow. That only brightened her smile, he couldn't imagine what made her so jolly suddenly but he hadn't much time to ponder before she kissed him upon the cheek. As to be expected, his cheek reddened—why did she do that in front of _everyone_?

"That's just as affective and far more fun than sit," she laughed only to stop abruptly as Inuyasha slammed to the ground, "oh my! I didn't mean to do that! I'm so sorry!" She gasped as she swiftly knelt down to drop the bags and cover her mouth. He pushed up to glare at the girl with a fiery intent.

"Kagome," he growled.

"Don't worry," she grinned anxiously, "I got you a gift."

But his hard gaze didn't falter as they stood up.

"What just happened?" Remie whispered to Minoru who only shrugged.

"Come on," Kagome coaxed as she picked up the bags and grasped one of his hands to tug him up to her bed room, she kicked the door shut behind them before she dropped the bags once more, "take off your clothes."

"What?" he nearly squealed as he stepped away from her helpful hands.

"You can't wear that," she pointed to his clothes, "we would be stared at everywhere we go and its best if we fly below the raider."

"The what?"

"Uh, if people don't stare," she simplified, "now take off your clothes, I bought you a whole bunch, I had a lot of fun," she giddily proclaimed as she began to go through the bags, "you and Minoru are about the same size, he didn't have so much fun."

"I can change by myself," he muttered.

"You can take off your clothes by yourself," she nodded, "but you'll have issues with jeans, I'm sure. I guessed you were a boxers guy instead of briefs but I bought both."

"What?" he mumbled again as she held up to packets, each with muscular men in barely anything on the front—her world was _so_ weird.

"Take your clothes of," she ordered again, "come on, I changed in front of you last night."

"I didn't ask you to," he retorted.

"You are so odd," she shook her head as she stood up to walk up to him, "after everything we've done you still get all flustered over the small things, like a kiss on the cheek," she taunted as she pulled the string of one of his many ties.

"Shut up," he grunted as he glanced away.

"It's cute, I really like that about you," she assured.

Her simple words had a hold on his heart, too, but he wouldn't admit that.

"You also have a very nice body, Inuyasha," she whispered as her fingers down to the knot that held up his pants.

"Stop," he grumbled as he grabbed her hands and pushed them away. Sensual sensations were sparked by her help; he could do it himself and reluctantly did so.

"Good boy," she teased as she unwrapped the boxer to throw them at him, "you put your legs threw the holes."

"I'm not a moron," he grumbled as he fumbled with the funny fabric to pull up the red checkered boxers.

She bit back a giggle as she picked up the jeans to walk up to him, "same thing to do with this."

"This is really odd material," he complained as he fumbled around to pull the jeans up.

"It jeans," she stated, "you'll get use to them. I bet you'd prefer bagger jeans but I thought that'd look bad. I knew better then to give you skinny ones—though I considered, because it'd be funny."

"Sure," he muttered just to get her to stop; it wasn't like he knew what she meant.

"Here," she offered as she zipped them up and then buttoned, "you'll get the hang of it. I was so tempted to get you some fancy shirt but I knew you'd just prefer a red graphic T. It's also really simple to put on, just slid it on," she instructed as she handed him the shirt.

Again, she had to bite back the amusement as he managed to get on the shirt.

"And to top it all off," she placed a black and gray fedora upon his head. "That looks pretty good; I kind of just got that as a joke but… I like it. I got you a _lot_ of hats, so don't worry about it."

"I feel funny," he sighed as he looked over himself.

"You look good," she assured as she patted him on the chest, "I'm going to pack some clothes and then we can go. We have tickets for five."

"Tickets?" he mused.

"You'll see," she grinned.

x-•°•°•-x

"You swear you'll write and call?" Her mother tested her once more as she hugged her tightly.

"I promise, and I'll come home again, soon," she smiled, the lie she hated to tell her mother but the only thing that would sooth her… she kissed her mother once more before hugging her grandfather and walking up to stairs where her three friends were waiting.

"So cute," Remie teased, "family time, how _cute_."

"Remie," Kagome sighed before her hazels moved to Souta as he rushed up.

"Wait, you have to promise _me_ that you'll come back," he ordered as he looked her straight in the eyes, "tell me the truth."

"I…" she mumbled, did she want to die a liar to _everyone_? She had told him the truth; nearly all of it at least, so why stop now? Instead, her eyes wandered away as she bit her bottom lip.

"You can't can, you?" Souta frowned as his hazels met the ground.

"Don't worry, kid," Inuyasha interrupted, "I'll bring her back to ya' alive."

"Good," Souta grinned as he looked up to the hanyou that was his hero, "if you say so then it'll have to happen."

"Bye, Souta," Kagome smiled as she kissed him on the forehead before they all turned and walked down the stairs, as soon as they were out of sight she bashed Inuyasha in the arm, "what's wrong with you?"

"Me?" He jeered, "what's wrong with _you_?"

"You shouldn't make such a promise to Souta when you know you might not be able to keep it," she scolded back.

"Shut up, woman, I'm going to keep it," he rejoined. "There's no way in hell I'm going to let anything happen to you, curse or not curse."

She opened her mouth to protest but gave up and sighed instead, there was no point in ruining his plan.

"You two are so cute," Remie interrupted as she throw an arm over Kagome's shoulder, "this is going to be fun, I just know it."

"Oh, yeah, _so_ much fun," Kagome sighed.

x-•°•°•-x

Getting Inuyasha through security was a trail in and of itself, luckily the hat never had to come off, and waiting to board their plan was filled with explanations of _what_ a plan was, the simplest explanation was "it's like Hachi when he transforms, we can fly on it."

"Ah," he nodded but the odd looking things still gave him the creeps as they walked through the hallow corridors to find their seats. Kagome entered the row first, followed by Inuyasha, and then Minoru, she pulled open the window so they could see out it.

She watched with amusement as Inuyasha raised a brow to the safety lecture they received before a voice chimed on, the pilot, to greet them, introduce himself, and say that the skies would be clear and beautiful for tonight's flight, the confusion that Inuyasha showed while trying to figure out where the man who talked came from almost made her laugh.

But the tension he clearly felt when the plane began to start down the run way, so she smiled as she placed a hand over his—that grasped the arm of his chair—and interlaced her fingers with him. Somehow, that loosened him up and made everything alright as the plane took off to soar into the sky.

**{~**¤°•.¤°•.¤°•.¤°•.¤°•.**~}**

_Two possessed people entered the graveyard when the moon reached its peak to wander deeper and deeper into the site until a grand statute marked the spot. A sick smirk shifted upon the handsome human's lips as he reached his hand out to touch it, he had finally found it. _

* * *

**Adam's Needle**: A Friend in Need


	17. Arbutus

†**{ A** **R**_ose_ by **A**_ny_ **O**_ther _**N**_ame_…** }**†  
**x{ **_1_**6: A**_rbutus_ **}x**  
-•°•°•-

"Takahashi Inuyasha," the confounded hanyou muttered as he flipped around the odd little packet of funny paper and weird feeling cover, the picture of him in it was what struck him as strange the most. He remembered the day before when Kagome tapped down his ears and covered them with his hair and Minoru had a strange little box in his hand that flashed. She said he'd understand it later, but he still didn't.

"For the last time, Inuyasha," Kagome sighed, "it's a passport. It's the only way to leave the country."

"It's funny looking," he grumbled as he handed it back to Minoru who was keeping a hold of it.

The girl to his left nudged him in the arm to whisper harshly, "those are really hard to fake, you should be thanking Minoru."

"Thanks, I guess," he murmured to the man to his right—really, he _hated_ being stuck in between like that.

"Not a problem, I have connections," he grinned boastfully as he pulled out two other passports to flip them open to see one held Kagome's photo and another his, "you see, it's really best that we fly under the radar and not use our real names."

"Sure," Inuyasha replied, as if he really knew what that meant. He had found it was just easier to nod along and ignore it, if it really mattered Kagome would explain it. Apparently, it didn't since she just turned her attention out the window again.

"Where's the other woman?" They had all came together to the airport and all went through the awful ordeal of lines, weird machines, and other things that were out of his understanding.

"Remie?" Minoru guessed, "she is up in first class, it's far nicer, more spacious, and has wonderful drinks."

"Why is she up there?"

"She's _loaded_," Kagome awed as he attention shifted back to two, "insanely rich. She refuses to travel in anything less than first class."

"Or, as she says, sleeping on silk sheets," Minoru grinned and shut his eyes at the thought.

"Is she just rich 'cause of her family?" Inuyasha asked as his golden gaze and cocked brow turned to Kagome.

"Yeah, she has family money," she nodded but then shrugged, "it also has a lot to do with the fact that she has no problem with being morally impaired."

"Huh…?"

"She is a collector of supernatural apparel, some can do great harm, some great good, and some nothing at all, but she doesn't care about any of it, she'll sell the stuff to the highest bidder with no qualm at all," Minoru explained, "she has quite the reputation."

"It's really horrible sometimes, I don't know how she does it," Kagome mumbled.

"Yet, if she didn't we wouldn't have any money, she does finance almost everything we do," Minoru chimed in before his violets ventured back up to the hat Inuyasha wore, "I'm still very tempted to tweak them…"

"Minoru," Kagome whined, "stop it, he'll hit you and I won't be able to stop it."

"You sure do know how to get yourself in weird, weird situations. I wouldn't have believed all your stories of another word if I hadn't seen this guy for myself."

"You are weird," Inuyasha grunted in return as his sizzling sunlit stare shifted to the familiar looking fellow.

"So says the man with a pair of dog ears," Minoru replied with a grin only to intensify the furry of the glare that locked upon him.

"How'd you meet this guy?" Inuyasha inquired as he turned his attention back to Kagome and nodded to Minoru.

"He's part of the resistance," she shrugged, "he's really helpful, so how about you two play nice?"

"The resistance, huh," he mulled over as he glanced back to the raven haired man.

"You see, my mother is Japanese and my father an Englishman, hence my handsome features," he gloated as he motioned his hand over his face, "I grew up in Kyoto most of my life until… my family was killed by our neighbor that was possessed by a demon. Tortured, really," he muttered the end as his smile faded. "That's how I got into the business of exorcisms. I assure you it's not that bad, once you meet others from the resistance it's like having a new family."

He leaned forward to smile at Kagome who smiled right on back, "for instance, Kagome is like a little sister." He even emphasized that by reaching over and tugging her on the cheek, which she promptly knocked away, "she's so cute and innocent, that's why we all adore her."

Normally, anyone but him touching Kagome would bother the hot-headed hanyou but he saw no harm in it this time. It was like having the lecherous monk, well back when he _was_ the pervert, around again. He knew neither would fraternize with the other and got the same feeling when it came to Minoru and Kagome, and more importantly Kagome was _his_ woman and she had essentially submitted to that fact already.

"I'll be back later," Minoru declared as he got up to walk through the aisle before disappearing into the section ahead of him.

"Where's he going?"

Again, Kagome shrugged, "probably to pester Remie, I think that he has some unrequited love issues that he needs to sort out."

"Huh?"

She just shook her head before she stood up, "switch seats with me."

He didn't bother to ask why, he didn't care, as long as he didn't have to be in the center anymore. It took some maneuvering and bodies brushed against other firm bodies before they were sitting once more.

"You should get to sit by the window, this is a whole new experience for you while I've flown a thousand times."

Was that it? His golden gaze shifted from the window to the smiling girl next to him, he wasn't surprised that she could be so thoughtful. At moments like those, when there was nothing but peaceful enjoyment lingering between the two it was hard to remember the curse that loomed over one of them that threatened to rip them apart once more. Yet... he did, and it pained him to think about it. He _couldn't_ lose Kagome. He didn't know what he'd do... he barely got over the feeling of a part of his soul being ripped out and dragged to death when he witnessed Kikyou die a second time.

"What?" Kagome frowned when she noticed the rather bleak and serious look that had surfaced.

He just shook his head as he leaned over to kiss her briefly, it was odd being allowed to do that whenever he pleased but... he liked it all the same. When he pulled away a smile was on her face once more and if he had his way than that smile would forever remain there. It was his light, the source of the fluttering joy that leaped about in his chest.

Without warning she leaned in to kiss him, instead of pulling away or allowing it to amount to nothing but lip-service she wrapped her arms around his neck. A smirk lifted a part of his lips as he shut his eyes before he parted his mouth to meet hers, their tongues twisted. His explored the roof of her mouth as her hands tugged on his hair, for some reason he liked that, so his hands moved from her hips to her chest. He could feel her smile into their kiss as he squeezed.

That was when Minoru returned to stand at the end of the row, neither seemed to notice the man with a blank stare not even with he sighed. "This is so unfair," he muttered to himself, "Remie is up in first class being treated like royalty and I'm stuck by the love-birds." With a shake of his head and wave of his hands he walked off, there was no need for him to be there while they were like _that_.

x-•°•°•-x

"This place looks weird," Inuyasha muttered as his eyes scanned around the rustic city that they had walked threw to end up at the hotel that they would stay at while they made their plan of action.

"It's European," Kagome explained as Minoru opened the door for them and Remie, Kagome though was the only one to thank him while Remie just winked and Inuyasha was obviously still stunned.

"He's going to have culture-shock," Minoru mumbled as he closed the door behind him and picked up his bag and Remie's two once more to meet them at the registration desk.

"What is she saying?" Inuyasha whispered as Remie began to talk to the man in a language he wasn't familiar with.

"She's checking us in, don't worry," Kagome replied, "but I don't speak Polish... I'm not even sure why we're in Poland."

"Because the charm that is supposed to lead us to the key to curing your curse floated over Poland on a map," Minoru explained for what felt like the thousandth time.

"It just seems so odd... I've never been here before, have you?"

He just shook his head, "but apparently Remie has."

"How many languages _does_ she speak?"

"English, Japanese, French, Spanish, Dutch and I can get around good enough in Italian, Polish, and Russian," Remie gloated as she split up the three cards she held, "I figured you two would want to share a room."

"It's fine," Kagome assured as she took the key-card, "but I feel so... untalented when I'm around you."

"Oh, sweetheart," Remie gloated as she flicked some of her beautiful brunette strands over her shoulders and smirked, "I know, it's hard sometimes-"

"I'm talking about language-wise, Remie," she stated swiftly, "all I can do is English and Japanese with some French."

"Even Minoru is better than that," Remie rejoined.

"Ouch," he muttered, "but it's true, I do speak German, English, Japanese and a good enough amount of Chinese."

"Well, at least I feel better compared to him," Kagome smiled as she nudged the still stunned hanyou, "then again; he didn't even know other countries existed..."

"What?" Inuyasha murmured.

"I'm exhausted," Remie declared as she snapped her fingers, "so help me with my bags, Minoru. I'm going to sleep; it's good we flew in at night."

"Yes, yes, madame," Minoru mocked but he did just that while Kagome pulled Inuyasha who was carrying their bags up to stares to the third floor where their room was, she was pretty certain Remie had booked one of the finest suites for herself but she couldn't blame her. She was the one paying for everything, and loaded, though from questionable ways...

"I know this is all really confusing," Kagome began as she closed the door behind him, "so perhaps you should s-i-t down for and while."

"Sure," Inuyasha sighed as he set their luggage down and plopped upon the fluffy bed. "This is going to be really weird... isn't it?"

"You are the one that said you wanted to come," she chimed as she kicked off her shoes and crawled up the bed to lie beside him, "barely anyone speaks Japanese outside of Japan so you'll probably be lost but with Minoru and Remie around we'll be fine, together they speak almost all the languages in Europe."

"Great," he grunted as he shut his eyes, 'cause that exactly what he enjoyed doing-blindly trusting strangers _but_ if Kagome trusted them then... they were probably okay.

"Inuyasha," she whispered as she rested her head upon his chest, "so... we're dating, right?"

"Hm, what that's mean?" he grumbled, was now really the time to talk? Even he was tired from that flight, not once could he find a comfortable way of sitting to sleep on the ride.

"We're together?" she rephrased.

"Well, obviously," he retorted, but she merely sighed at that.

_He doesn't understand that I don't mean it literally,_ she lamented. "Never mind, let's just sleep."

"Sounds great," he replied as he wrapped an arm around her as he placed another one under his head.

x-•°•°•-x

It was a hotel meant for foreigners so the complementary breakfast wasn't authentic Polish cuisine but cereal, muffins, donuts, yogurt, waffles, oatmeal, eggs, bacon, and sausages with a wide array of drinks. The food was a bit stranger than the normal oddness in Kagome's word in Inuyasha's opinion but he did discover he did not like sweets as much as Kagome did but _loved_ bacon.

"Really enjoying yourself there, huh?" Kagome inquired as she sipped the last bit of her tea as she dully looked over her significant other as he scarfed down another thing of bacon.

"Kagome?" A stunned yet soothing voice inquired, it caught both of their attentions as they looked up to a devilishly debonair and muscular man, "it is you!"

"Kenneth," Kagome chimed as she shot up and out of her seat to hug him briefly before their conversation carried on-leaving Inuyasha in the dark and hating it completely. He detested with a passion the giddy smile she held as she spoke to that guy in a language he did not understand. What he could grasp was the way the stranger was chatting her up and the look in his eyes. It was then that Remie and Minoru showed up for breakfast, both shouted out "Kenneth" before they walked over excitedly to start in on the conversation in the same strange language.

Even if he couldn't grasp what they are saying he could tell there was a little something-something between him and Kagome by the lala-look she had on her face and the way his hand roamed to earn a spot on her hip. To her credit she wiggled her way out of that one but _giggled_.

If he hadn't heard his name leave her mouth right then he might have punched the guy.

"Inuyasha, this is Kenneth, he doesn't speak Japanese, only English, so sorry," she pouted before her hazels shifted back to Kenneth, "he's a member of the resistance, too."

If that gleam did not fade away from her eyes soon then he just might have to kill someone…

x-•••-x

It was a nice summer day, heat poured out of the sky to flutter about so it seemed like a good idea to go down to the pool and relax in the seats. Remie wore a pink and green bikini as she laid upon her stomach with the back of her top untied so that she wouldn't have a tan-line, a content sigh left her lips. Her female comrade didn't think to bring a bathing suit but wore a pair of shorts and a silk-like pink and blue patterned halter top and rested upon a lounge chair with a smile upon her lips.

Inuyasha was the only one bothered apparently as he sat in a seat next to Kagome, facing her with a grumpy expression, "what the fuck? Why aren't we looking for whatever will break Kagome's curse?"

"Because we want to adjust to this time schedule first, tomorrow we'll leave," Kagome replied, "don't worry about it."

Don't worry about it; he could feel his blood boil, "hey, what's up with you and that guy?"

"Hm?" she hummed as she slid down her longue chair some more, it was the simple moments in life that she had to enjoy after all.

"Don't 'hm' me," he growled, "that guy from earlier, at breakfast the one you all talked a funny language to."

"Oh, Kenneth," she chimed, "yeah, sorry about that, he only speaks English and some German."

"I didn't ask that," he scowled, "I asked what's _between_ you two."

Finally, he killed her good cheer to spark a sigh. With effort she pried open her eyes to glance over and see his bothered self, _insecure much_?

"Don't glare at me," he ordered, "you were all over him."

"I was not," she bickered as she sat up, "you are imagining things, Inuyasha."

But… she couldn't help but allow her imagination to run wild even for a bit. Back to that rainy day in Dresden, Germany, when they were all alone in a quaint inn room—separated from the others. How he was drenched and his sopping clothes fit to his remarkable figure so finely just as her clothes did her, the shared looks they flickered back and forth as they tried to dry themselves off with the towels before they gave up and locked lips instead. The tension was killing both of them as they toppled onto the one bed, his hands roamed around her body exploring it like it never had before just as his tongue invaded her mouth to teach her the technique.

It wasn't until their second night together, coped up still from another storm, that her shirt was discarded as they fooled around just as his was—which was a real treat, he was like a finely crafted statue by Michelangelo. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how one looked at it, her father showed up just then before they could go all the way. Needless to say Kenneth was mystically always on a mission for the resistance far, far away from Kagome after that point.

_It was probably for the best,_ she thought, _that way Inuyasha was my first and… only most likely._

"I don't like the way that guy looks at you," Inuyasha scoffed.

"Oh, settle down," Remie butted in as she knelt up to tie her bikini top and flip onto her back.

"What the hell's with the way you talk?" He snapped at the irksome intruder.

"It's an accent," she stated simply, "you see, my mum's an American that my pa met while he was in Japan on some business thing, he's an Aussie. They got hitched, I was born, and we stayed there for a while—that's how come I can speak Japanese. Then we moved to…" she sighed as she lied back down, "New Zealand for my mum's work… I'll have you know, that I've got none of their blood in me! I'm an Aussie through and through."

"Except for the part that's American," Kagome muttered only to have a towel thrown in her face.

"I don't get it…" Inuyasha muttered.

"New Zealanders and Australians have some animosity between them," Kagome explained, "it's generally harmless, I gather. Australia and New Zealand are countries like Japan, see, we're Japanese. Do you understand?"

Sort of, so he nodded and looked back to Remie as she started to tug on a string to her bikini top. Was she planning to take the front part of…? For some reason he wasn't able to pry his eyes from the scene, two petite hands were thrust in his line of vision instead.

"Then we moved to Australia," Remie explained, "thank God."

"Remie!" Kagome shouted, "this isn't a nude beach, keep that on!"

"I don't like tan lines," Remie pouted, "they are just tits; I don't see the big deal. Every woman has them."

"Remie!"

With a sigh she pulled her hands away and complied, leaving her top on as her antsy friend insisted, it was then that her hands shifted away from Inuyasha's eyes.

Remarkably, all he had to say was, "so, what's between you and that guy?"

With a dramatic sigh she crossed her arms and scoffed, "seriously, again?"

"Well, you can't say I didn't try to help," Remie proclaimed, she had tried her best to distract Inuyasha but she had to hand it to him—he was a one-track minded type of guy.

"Yeah, again, 'cause you never answered the first time!"

"It's nothing," she groaned, "nothing is between Kenneth and me. How would you know if you couldn't even understand what we were saying?"

"Whatever, I might not understand what you were saying but I know that look! You were all sparkly eyed over that guy and he was paying way too much attention to you," he ranted, "I don't like it. He seems like an ass. I don't want you around that guy."

"Uh-huh," Kagome nodded but he knew better, the amazed look on her face told him that she hadn't heard a word that he had said so he waved his hand in front of her to no avail. It was then that his sunlit stare shifted to find the focus of her interest, that damn Kenneth guy in nothing but a bathing suit jumping into the water to pop up sopping wet, his brown hair glistening as he opened up his big blue eyes that instantly seemed to find Kagome.

He grinned graciously as he waved to them and called out for Kagome to come join him.

She just dumbly smiled and waved back to him as Remie sat up to watch the scene, even she was awe-struck before she replied, "Kenneth! You, me, my suite, nine o'clock for one hell of a time."

That was all Inuyasha could take, with a twitching brow he grabbed Kagome by the wrist and yanked her away from the pool to the lobby of hotel once more. "What the hell! Why are you gawking at that guy like that!"

"Settle down, settle down," Kagome ordered as she pried her wrist free, "what Kenneth and I had was a long time ago and really fleeting."

"What?" He shrieked as he clenched his fists together, "so you _had_ something? What'd you do with him!"

"You know what?" She snapped back as she placed her hand upon her hips, "that's none of your business!"

Shock shifted across his face before disgust, if she wasn't willing to cop to it than that had to mean more than just kissing… he shook his from rage before storming off without another word.

"Jealous asshole," Kagome muttered with a sigh before she looked back out the window to see Remie had joined Kenneth in the water to play, "at least Remie's having a good time…"

That whole 'no-morals' thing seemed so much more appealing all of a sudden, too.

x-•°•°•-x

He _was_ a generally insecure guy plus he was thrust into a world he did not understand, there was a big difference between going back into a past that she had read about and understood than him going to the future with technology that was beyond him let alone being taken to countries he did not even knew existed, so she really should cut him some slack. After she gave him some time to cool she went up to their room to find him still fuming as he sat on the bed clicking threw the channels on the TV just for the hell of it, it would seem.

"Inuyasha," she wearily began as she closed the door behind her, he just barely glared at her before turning his attention back to the TV. "I'm sorry… but you were being rude, you know?"

"Whatever," he gripped.

"You are so ill tempered," she sighed as she walked over to sit down on the bed next to him, instantly he stood up to walk away from her. Now _that_ was just childish, "Inuyasha, where are you going?"

"Downstairs," he grumbled.

"Stop that," she ordered as she stood up to block him from the door, "you can't just stay mad at me, we should talk about this."

"Whatever."

"Jeez, I regret teaching you that word," she rejoined as she firmly crossed her arms under her bosom, "don't make me use the word, because I will if that's what it takes."

"Keh," he scoffed as he began to push her away, gently, from the door.

"Sit," she snapped and instantly he slammed to the ground. "You made me do that," she declared as she knelt down above him, one knee on either side of his hip. As soon as he could pry himself away from the ground enough he turned to be on his back to see her over him… if he wasn't still so ticked he might have been aroused by the prospect.

"I didn't! You bitch, I hate this thing!"

"Inuyasha!" She shouted back as she slammed her hands around his head to lean over him some more, "look, we need to talk so just sit," she cringed and shut her eyes as he was thrust against the ground again, "ops… didn't mean to do that one."

"See! That's why I hate this thing," he snapped as he grabbed the necklace, luckily that time he was already lying against the ground so it just choked him some.

"Please, just listen to me," she requested with a pout, "I love _you_. Kenneth and I… fooled around some at a hotel in Germany like a year ago. It was nothing; it was just two nights of teenage hormones. We kissed some, that's all. I love _you_ not him. He's just _really_ hot."

If not for that final sentence his temper might have cooled some but for that he grabbed her thighs and twisted them around so she was below him, flaring golden eyes stared down at her.

She could figure were that was going and paid no heed in stopping it when his lips crashed down to hers, quickly her hands found their way to his face up to his silver tresses that she enjoyed to play with so much. Instead of allowing it as he had before he hit her hands away and pulled away from the kiss to grab her hips once more and turn her about as if she was a rag doll so her stomach was to the ground.

"Inuyasha?" she wearily muttered, she could tell where _this_ was going, too. He pried her hips up to in the air as his lips made their way along the side of her neck, sloppy kisses and nibbles here and there while one hand ran its way up her halter top to grab her bra-less breast and module it about in his hand.

His other hand wandered up her bare leg until it reached her jean shorts, he had those yanked off in no time and with one tug of a string her halter top fell to expose both her breasts for his enjoyment. Two flicks of his claws and her panties were out of the way, too—later, he was certain to get yelled at for that, though.

It took fumbled fingers to get his jeans off but before he had a chance to free his restricted bulge from his boxers she pulled away, "wait."

"Why?" he grunted, there was no family to use as an excuse or a loud bed.

But that didn't stop her from grabbing her top to cover her breasts and turn over to look at him with flustered cheeks, "well…"

"Spit it out," he grunted, it was cruel to make him _stop_ when he was already riled up.

"Do you really want to do this…?"

"Yes," he replied before he sighed and looked away, "why, do you not want to?"

"I do," she muttered, "it's just… if you really want to will you do me a favor?"

Gods, he wished she didn't stop them for _this_ but he looked back to her and nodded anyway.

"Wear protection?"

"What?" he mumbled with a cocked brow.

"Hold on," she requested as wiggled her way out from below him to go to her luggage to pull out a square wrapped object, she did come prepared.

"What's that?"

"Protection, you wear it on," she dragged out as she looked down him, when her eyes stopped a certain location he looked down to make sure that was _really_ were she was looking before he raised his brow higher. "It's to prevent pregnancies."

"I thought you were on some medicine for that," he grumbled as she knelt down in front of him.

"That isn't fully affective yet, so please?" She pouted before he rolled his eyes and lied down with his arms folded below his head.

"You killed the moment," he stated instead. They had barely gotten started after all…

"Ah!" she gasped.

"Ah," he mocked as he shut his eyes, "it's your fault, not mine."

"I'm being responsible!"

"Whatever," he muttered before he felt her kneel over him again, "knock it off."

"Shut up," she ordered as she pulled his boxers down, which instantly caught his attention again. When had she become so forward?

Of course, he wasn't kidding when she said she killed the moment his interest had become… limp. She tilted her head back and forth for a bit as she debated about what to do, obviously there were multiple options… "you want me to prove I love you and I want you, not Kenneth, right?"

"Sure," he nodded as he propped himself up on his elbows, just having her nearly completely exposed above his was enough to start to arouse him again, along with her sensual scent.

"I've never done this… but," she sighed as she leaned down, Remie had told her that if she ever wanted to appease a pissed off man this was the best way to do it, whatever they were gripping about would be yesterday's news right away. Somehow, she was certain Remie pissed off a _lot_ of men in her time.

"Never done what?" Inuyasha inquired but in a moment she needn't elaborate any further, her hand stroked him from shaft all the way to his tip before her mouth encompassed him and instantly his breath hitched. She wasn't really… was she?

He groaned when she began to bob her head upon him, his head fell back as he shut his eyes, one of her hands worked on his sack, messaging it while her tongue slid around from shaft to tip. It barely took one suck to get him to give up on propping himself up, he fell to the ground as he moaned again as she kept up her work. For his taste she wasn't working quick enough, though, so he grabbed her hair and guided her pace.

She didn't mind that, either.

It felt better than good when she sucked on him a second time, harder as she plunged down more. His breath quickened as she kept up. It just took one longer, more intense suck to cause him to cum.

_That _she could tell was going to happen and refused to accept to prospect of swallowing, so she pulled off just in time to avoid the intake. She did not avoid the projectile upon her bare breasts and chin, though.

"See, I love you," she stated as she got up, pulling off the halter top that had been loosely hugging her stomach for some time, he just nodded to her as he regained himself. When she reached the tissue box and pulled out he opened his eyes.

"Stop," he ordered before she could whip herself clean.

"Huh, why?" She questioned as she glanced back to him as he sat up and motioned her over. Wearily and with narrowed eyes she returned to him, he instantly pulled her into his lap and knocked the tissues out of her hand. Was it wrong that he preferred her like that? Marked as his?

He swiftly nuzzled his mouth onto the nape of her neck and began to kiss her all over again as one hand rested on the small of her back to keep her there while the other one rubbed her closest breast, his thumb messaging her erected nipple.

"Inuyasha," she murmured as she bent her head away to give him more access, "if this… is going any farther you have to wear a condom."

"A what?" he muttered as his lips found their way to her collarbone.

"Protection," she rephrased as she, with a great deal of will power, pushed him away to pick up the condom that had been dropped on the ground beside them. "Wear this and we can, don't and we won't."

"Fuck, fine," he grunted as he took it from her and looked over the package, "what… do I do?"

"I'll do it," she offered as she took it from him, opened it up and slid it on, "now you can dominate me anyway you want."

She knew just the right words to use to spark his arousal again, _dominate_. That's just what he planned to do as he pushed her back to the ground and parted her legs before their mouths meshed once more. This time he didn't allow her any time to protest or interfere before he situated himself and plunged in—it felt _so_ good to finally feel her tightness around him again.

She gasped into their kiss but didn't pull away or protest; instead she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer.

He slowly began to move in and out of her, taking care to make sure it didn't hurt her like it did the time before. Her legs wrapped around his before she began to stir along with him, to have her jerk him around while he was inside her felt better than the special treatment he had just received—though, he wouldn't mind getting that again.

"Kagome," he murmured into her ear, sparking a moan from her as she shut her eyes.

This wasn't how he wanted to take her so he grabbed her hips and kept thrusting gently into her, she seemed to understand where he was going and permitted it by moving her legs around as she twirled slowly around on him to end up with her breast to the ground and hips in the air to meet his kneeling self.

Another gasp left her lips as he plunged deeper into her from the new angle, causing a new sensation to spark within her from the new spots he hit. She felt even tighter like that, he was positive that the whole experience would feel better if he wasn't constrained by the 'condom' but there would be no sex without it so…

He groaned as he quickened his pace, letting go of the gentle thrusts to pound harder into her. If she screamed, if she begged him to stop, then he would have but she only moaned instead—_his_ name, at that. He picked the pace, he pushed into her, _he_ was the one with the control and that made it all the hotter to him.

The redden cheeks and bedroom eyes Kagome flashed him as she turned to look at him didn't hurt, either.

Whatever frustration he held for her disappeared when she clenched down around him to extract his own blissful coming, his flustered mind couldn't even form her name as he cried out.

Make-up sex wouldn't be a term he learned until later, but he already loved the concept. They needed to get into fights more often…

x-•°•°•-x

A series of irritating thuds upon the door to their room finally got Inuyasha's ears to twitch before he pried open his orbs to see the sleeping girl in his embrace spewed about the bed rather oddly, but that just earned a grin as he recalled all that had taken place between the sheets the night prior.

"Inuyasha, Kagome!" Minoru shouted as he knocked upon the door in a rather random pattern once more, "it's time to wake up, we have to go!"

"Ugh," Kagome grumbled as she tightened her shut lids before shouting, "fine! When!"

"An hour!"

"Alright!" she replied before she finally opened her eyes to roll over and see Inuyasha was already awake, "you know what that means, right?"

"We have to go…?" he guessed, she just smiled and shook her head as she tugged on the pray beads to pull his lips to hers.

"We have a half hour," she corrected.

**{~**¤°•.¤°•.¤°•.¤°•.¤°•.**~}**

_A purple pendant dangled from a string to spark an odd glow to circle about it as it hovered above a map. Slowly but surely it shifted without any aid from the delicate hand that held it to float about a forest._

_Their next destination had been revealed. _

* * *

**A/N**: You should go read **eine hexe**'s stories _**Willing To Try**_(amazing, go read it, seriously) that I had the inspiration to write more of this InuxKag story. I'm sure with time the reluctance will pass.

**Please review.**

**ARBUTUS**: Thee only do I love.


	18. Blackthorn

†**{ A** **R**_ose_ by **A**_ny_ **O**_ther _**N**_ame_…** }**†  
**x{ **_1_**8: Blackthorn }x**  
-•°•°•-

A purple pendant dangled from a string to spark an odd glow to circle about it as it hovered above a map. Slowly but surely it shifted without any aid from the delicate hand that held it to float about a forest.

Quickly, a smile crept up a pair of pretty painted lips as the pendant was caught in her hands and placed back into its velvet bag.

"Boo," a man shouted from right behind her, sparking a shriek of terror as she spun around to slap him squarely across the face.

"Damn it, Minoru!" Remie cried out as she kicked him in the knee, causing a cry of pain of his own.

"Ow! I was just messing around, why do you have to be violent!"

"Why'd you jump out at me like that!" She countered, "I was focusing on something and then you had to scare me! Moron!"

"Sorry," he sighed, there was never any point in arguing with her when it came to the subject who was at blame for any wrong doing, she never was, he always was—why try and fight it? "What _were_ you focusing so hard on, my dear?"

"Now that we're closer to the cure for Kagome's curse, I'm able to be more accurate," she began to explain with a self-righteous smirk, "you are all very lucky to have me. We're off a country, though, we need to go to Germany. The Brandenburg region to be more specific, a bit outside of Berlin. I should be able to pinpoint it's exact location once we get there. I already booked us four tickets on the next train out of here to Berlin. We should probably stay there for a night then head out the next morning; I can tell Kagome needs her rest…"

Minoru nodded at that as leaned against the table, "maybe not _that _much, I mean, if she's able to do something…" he paused as he searched for a more delicate word, "so physical with that boyfriend of hers for the past half-hour she ought to be alright."

"It's so cute that our little Kagome is in _wuv_," Remie grinned, "weird bloke, but whatever floats her boat."

"Our dear little Kagome's not so normal herself," Mionru reminded, "anyway, I'll go see if they are ready to go yet. I gave them an hour warning not too long ago but you never know…"

"I'll be waiting outside for all of you."

"Sounds good."

x-•°•°•-x

It was a suffocating feeling. An overwhelming sensation that caused her chest to cascade inward, threatening to crush her heart and lungs all at once. But that was only part of it, there was the bubbling anxiety that was building with each passing moment within her stomach as well—going up, up, up until it collided with what was suffocating her.

That's when the two sensations sparked a burning that shot up all the way to her eyes, begging them to shed a tear or two. But no, she wouldn't, she held back the urge, she found the strength to breath, to keep herself in one piece.

Even though she knew she was as doomed as a ragdoll that's seams were only held together by one thread, one so flimsy that if anyone where to tug at it then it would come apart and everything that was held together inside would come pouring out.

Hell on earth was a bit extreme, that's not where she was really. She had the man she adored by her side, that was a plus, right? Yes, yes it was. Even if it shouldn't, even if it was selfish of her to cling to him like she did in what very well might be her final moment. If she was stronger she would have pushed him away, forced him back to that _other_ girl, let him be happy.

Contrary to popular opinion, though, Higurashi Kagome wasn't strong. Somehow, she managed to get through everything but only by locking away all her fears and sorrow deep inside. Soon she knew they would start to find cracks and crawl their way out. Sure, she could smile to Remie and Minoru as they sat across from her on the train ride and then turn her hazels back out the window and lean against the cool glass as if she was merely tired.

On the inside, she was just a fraction away from self-destruction.

She feared death.

She feared what was on the other side waiting for her.

She feared _if_ there _was another_ side.

She feared never seeing her family again—causing them even more pain than she already did.

She feared the unknown

She feared those who sought to kill her.

She feared losing _him _after she just found him—causing her beloved hanyou even more grief than she had already.

She feared hurting her brother…

The curse that ate away at her, stealing more and more of her time, wasn't the only thing weighing her down… It was just the one that would surely kill her.

With a deep breath she shut her eyes to cease to watch the countryside pass her by… she was so tired, yet she feared falling asleep. What if she didn't wake?

Another sigh escaped her lips as she pried open her eyes and glanced to the head that was upon her shoulder, if things were just a fraction better she would have surely smiled to see such a soundly sleeping Inuyasha but…

That just made her heart ache all the more. Could she confine in him? Tell him how scared she really was? No… because if she did she'd surely break, whatever was holding everything in would disappear and she'd never be able to regain herself. She had to at least keep up an appearance of being strong.

For him, for everyone.

x-•°•°•-x

"Don't go too far," she had told him along with everyone else, multiple times. What the hell did they think he'd do? He hated being stuck in the strange metal box that was able to transport them from Poland to Germany, whatever _that_ meant. Then they expected him to just retire for the night in the hotel? The _small_ hotel?

Like hell that was going to happen, he needed to stretch his legs.

Kagome had offered to go with him on the walk but one look at the bags below her eyes and he knew she didn't really want to; instead he had insisted she stay behind and get some rest. He wouldn't get lost; he had his nose to lead him back to her after all.

What he truly hated about her world was how everyone treated him like a child, sure he didn't really get anything that was going on, sure it was all _very_ odd, but still! He was Inuyasha, a hanyou, he could handle himself. He didn't need anyone taking care of him. He resented the very notion; a man had his pride after all.

And God only knew only inflated Inuyasha's was…

He avoided leaping around like his legs begged him to because he had promised Kagome he wouldn't, apparently moving metal boxes was normal but a guy that could jump as high as him wasn't—how the hell did that make sense?

But whatever, he was content with just walking about the strange city filled with odd scents—some decent, some he wished he never smelt.

Then there was _one_ that caught his sense's whole, one that consumed him and caused him to cease in his steps. To take a deeper breath in to make sure that it was what he thought it was but… but how was that possible?

For a moment, his heart stopped, his breath hitched itself in his throat and his legs refused to move.

…but then that moment passed and he disregarded his promise of not attracting attention to himself by sprinting off as fast as possible to find the source of the sweet scent he was so sure he knew. Leap after leap got him closer and closer until there it was—the source.

The strange world around he began to spin as he stopped in front of it, mouth agape and eyes wide.

It wasn't possible… yet…?

Yet there she was.

The woman he had once loved so dearly, more so than his own life, more so than his goal of being a youkai, more so than…

"K…" he swallowed as he closed his eyes and opened them again, he had half expected her not to be there but she was. Standing in front of him so still, looking as pretty as a porcelain doll. Finally, he found the strength to overcome the large lump in his throat and say her name, "Ki… Kikyou?"

"Inuyasha," she replied with a faint smile, _her _faint smile. The one that no one else could mimic, the one that he was half sure wasn't real but there it was.

"How…?" He had watched her die for a second time, he had held her in his arms… how could she be in front of him? Was it a dream? It had to be…

But she didn't answer, simply kept smiling as she stepped closer and closer until he felt her hand upon his cheek—her soft, _warm_ hand.

She wasn't made of clay this time but… how?

A part of him didn't want to keep asking, a part of him just wanted to close her in his arms and ignore the rules of reality—the ones that stated she couldn't be there.

But another part knew that was wrong, that he couldn't. That it could be a trap, that it wasn't right.

His golden gaze dropped from her face down the black dress she wore then back up again, "how?"

"I'm not sure," she replied after her thumb caressed his skin, "I don't even know where I am right now. I don't know what's going on but… then you showed up."

He didn't know what to say, so he just kept quite. Maybe it was just a dream, maybe he was still on the train, maybe he'd wake up.

Maybe… it was wrong that he just stood there as her lips met his.

Her soft, sweet lips that he hadn't felt for over fifty years… half of him thought it wasn't wrong—they were the same person after all. His other half, his smarter one, screamed that that was a lie. That they were completely different. Like the sun and moon.

But still…

"Ah," he gripped once she pulled away, quickly snapping his hand up to his neck where he felt a sharp prick.

"Sleep tight, sweet knight," he barely heard her whisper into his ear before everything went black.

* * *

**Blackthorn**: difficulty and Austerity


	19. Purple Hyacinth

†**{ A** **R**_ose_ by **A**_ny_ **O**_ther _**N**_ame_…** }**†  
**x{ **_1_**9: Purple Hyacinth }x  
_Warning: Dark Content_**

-•°•°•-

Darkness donned about him until his eyes worked their way open to see a dim glow of a light to his side, and that was when he saw her sitting silently to there fiddling with her fingers allowing her deep brown gaze to wonder about until it finally landed back on him, the bored expression that had once coated her face was taken over by a subtle smile as she tilted her head and slid off the table she sat on.

"Ki… Kikyou?" He murmured before he tried to budge only to find himself unable to move even his tiny toe.

"That's right," she softly sang, "it wasn't a dream, but I'm not Kikyou, either. She's gone, let her soul rest in peace," she mocked as she waltzed over to him to run her finger tips across his cheek, "I just have her body. My master thought it would be easier to get you here with me wearing this skin suite."

"Get out of her," he growled as he tried to move once more.

"She's dead, I don't think she cares much," she whispered as she knelt down beside the table he was laid across to start to run her fingers through his hair, "a demon possession is a very powerful thing, puppy."

"Why can't I move?" he hissed.

"Binding spell, we need you to stay still," she sang as she drew a circle on his forehead, "so that the demon can take you."

"_What_?"

"You see, there's this fellow in hell that my master's raising right now and he'll need a body to posses," she whispered into his ear, "and we instantly thought of you."

"As if I'm going to let that happen," he retorted.

"Sweetheart, you couldn't stop it," she replied as she kissed him on the cheek and stood up, "you want her, huh? This body, you never got it but you want it."

"Go to hell!"

"Been there, done that," she laughed as she spun around to let her hands run along her black dress, "it is so nice, so fine. I have a feeling she never flaunted it like she should have."

"Don't talk about her like that," he demanded.

"Aw," she cooed, "you're so cute; no wonder little miss perfect has such a thing for you."

"I won't let you hurt Kagome," he snapped, "stay away from her."

"I plan to," she promised with a nod, "but you will get _very _close, well not _you_-you but your body. The curse that's coated her soul will be the death of her, but this? What we're about to do, correction, what _you_ are about to do, that's just for fun. Just to _fuck_ with the little princess some more, that little pious _bitch _deserves this. All she needed to do was stay out of our business."

"You—" but she covered his mouth with her soft hand before he could say another word.

"Sh," she requested as she lifted a finger to cover her red lips, "the fun is about to start."

x-•°•°•-x

"Where is he?" Kagome whispered as she continued her constantly circling of the room, "he shouldn't be gone this long…"

"Maybe he got lost," Minoru shrugged, "I mean he is from what? The time before dinosaurs? A big city like this one must be confusing."

"Minoru," Kagome sighed with a roll of her eyes, "stop being an ass."

"I think I have a charm that can help us locate your boy-toy," Remie declared as she started to rummage through her bag, "at least, I think so."

"Or we could just wait for him to get back," Minoru suggested.

"Wait for who?" Someone asked as the door opened and everyone turn to see Inuyasha.

"You!" Kagome shouted as she walked over to hug him, "what's wrong with you, huh? I was worried! You've been gone for hours."

"It's a big place," he shrugged as he patted her on the back, "you've always worried too much about things, Kagome."

"I guess," she sighed as she pulled away to look up to his golden gaze, "did you have fun? I hope you didn't go hopping around too much, people would think that's odd."

"It was…" he coaxed with a tilt of his head as his eyes wondered to the side as he searched for a word, "an odd experience… different."

"You're handling this well," Kagome praised as she gave him a peck on the cheek, "everything's so different in my world then yours."

"You can say that again," he grinned as he glanced to the other two, "what do you say we go back to our room?"

"Yeah, you crazy kids go have fun," Remie insisted with a clap of her hands as she stood up, "we leave at dawn tomorrow, we'll have to make a stop at this nowhere town before going on a hike through the forest to find the place."

"Okay, well, we'll see you tomorrow morning bright and early then," Kagome promised as she opened the door and led Inuyasha out.

"We could have some fun," Minoru suggested as he looked up to Remie who only rolled her eyes.

"Maybe in another life," she chuckled as she opened the door.

"Where are you going?"

"Back to my room, the _master_ suite," she whispered with a wink, "the bed is so wondrous."

"Tease me a little more why don't you?" He grumbled as he lied down.

x-•°•°•-x

"You're frisky," Kagome giggled as she tilted her head to the side some more as he continued to kiss her neck, even nip at it until he pushed her onto the bed, "Inuyasha."

"Trust me," he requested with a grin as he undid his belt and slid it off before kneeling on either side of her hip, "I've been thinking about this for a _very_ long time now."

"Oh?" She questioned as she raised her arms up so he could slide off her shirt, swiftly followed by her bra. He threw both to the side before taking her wrists into one of his hands and slamming it on the bed above her head, "Inuyasha?"

"Hold on just one moment," he ordered with a grin as he wrapped his belt around her hands and connected it to the bed post.

"How do you even know about bondage?" she wearily asked, "I don't think I'm comfortable with this, Inuyasha."

"Hell, I've been dreaming about this for a very, _very_ long time," he declared as he started at her pants, "remember how you teased me before zapping me with that nasty priestess power of yours?"

"What are you talking about?" She questioned as she tried to free her hands but to no avail, "Inuyasha, seriously… you scarring me."

"He's not in right now," he replied, "actually, he is, but he has no say in what we're about to do, I have a feeling he wouldn't mind, though."

"Who are you?" She hissed while she tried to struggle to keep him from ripping off her pants but, really, he could have used his claws and she wouldn't have be able to stop that either, "stop it!"

"Sh," he ordered as he slapped his hand onto her mouth, "there's a horde of angry demons around and they're all willing to rip apart your friends at my say so, too many for them to fight off, I suggest you stay quiet and only scream when I tell you. Oh, am I going to make you scream," he chuckled, "sweet, innocent, little Kagome whores herself out to this hanyou."

She shook her head to try and get his hand off of her mouth if he moved it up even a _fragment _more he would have been suffocating her but he obviously didn't want to kill her, not yet, as he ran his finger tips up her thighs to her pink panties, "centuries I've been waiting for someone to get me the _hell_ out of… hell. For most of the time I was down there I wanted to kill the son of a bitch that sent me there but… then I realized I wouldn't have been in such a weakened state if not for _you_."

"Who are you?" She demanded between clenched teeth as she took a shakily breath in once he removed his hand from her mouth.

"I've been imagining this moment for so long, what I'd do to you, _how_ I'd do it," he taunted while he slid his hands up her bare stomach, "now that the moment's finally here… I can barely believe it."

"Get out of Inuyasha," she ordered.

"I hate him, too, so forcing him to suffer like this, knowing he'll _never_ forgive himself," he shivered at the thought, "it just makes it all the better."

Most of the demons she ever dealt with never encountered him so if she stopped to think about it that did narrow this list down… still she couldn't think straight, still she couldn't remember who it could be, so she hissed, "what? You going to try and rape me?"

"I won't try anything," he corrected, "I will _but_ really what I've been dreaming about doing is torturing you to the point of death and back again. For example," he breathed in deeply as he rested his claws on her stomach, "ripping out your organs and jamming them down your throat seems so tempting. I've been told not to kill you; I've been promised that the curse will do worse to you than I could ever so… I guess I'll just have to do with tormenting both you and your horny hanyou the best way I can."

"Go to hell," she snapped.

"Been there already, would rather not go back," he countered as he let his fingers drag up to her breasts, "I used to lust for you, but not as badly as the woman you once were. You're just second hand goods now, not even pure; this isn't going to be as fun as it would have been before."

"Sorry to disappoint," she grunted as she tried to knee him but only had him force her legs apart.

"Kikyou is the one we both really wanted but when we couldn't get her we settled for you," he whispered into her ear, "you aren't as pretty as her, not as pure, you've let yourself become tainted, she never did. She died protecting the jewel, you broke it, and you use it for your own purposes. She never would have in less it made it go away."

"N… Naraku?" She guessed with bent brows.

"Good job, a bit slow on the intake," he replied, "that bastard brother of yours annihilated me after _you_ rendered me all but useless, bitch. But, hey, I'm out now and they were right, hell makes you stronger. I'm not some weak hanyou that needs the shikon shards to grow stronger, hell did that. Five hundred years of it, now I'm going to make you suffer like I did."

"Inuyasha!" She cried out, "you can fight him, you can get him out!"

"No he can't," Naraku corrected as he leaned down to bite her neck to the point of leaving a mark, "I want you to know," he breathed against her skin as he ran his hands up her inner thigh, "that I take great pleasure in the knowledge that once the curse eats away from your soul out then you'll be going down, down, down to see your daddy in hell."

"Shut up!" She demanded as she tried again to get free, she flung her feet, wiggled her arms, but it was no to reward, instead he only slapped across the face with one hand and tore off her panties with another.

"Go ahead and scream now," he requested with a nod as he yanked off his pants and threw his shirt across the room. "Those demons are going to eat your friends alive."

"And give you the pleasure?" She snarled, "I think not. No matter what he does to me, it's not your fault, Inuyasha."

"Aw, that's sweet," he chuckled as he slid his hand all the way up her inner thighs, "go ahead and try and tell the self loathing mutt that, he's not going believe you."

"You're in his body," she gasped before he slid a finger in her and forced her eyes shut while she bit her lips together.

"But it's not going to be like him fucking you, you'll never be able to look at him in the eyes again, never allow him to touch you again, never allow him to even _hold_ you again because every time you see him you'll think of _me_ and what I'm about to do to _you_."

x-•°•°•-x

"Stop," the demon in Damian growled as he clenched his hand together and shifted his head around until he could open his eyes again and look in the mirror, "_stop_, I'm stronger than you. No matter how much you struggle I'll always have control, there's no saving that bitch of a sister of yours."

"Master?" The pretty woman like a porcelain doll questioned as she opened the door, "are you alright?"

"The soul in here's giving me fits," he grunted before turning around, "but it'll be fine, have you finished preparation for the ceremony?"

"I have, that little girl you made a deal with in the past and then that man that wore the skirt made it an even four thousand eight hundred and forty-eight, the perfect number," she chimed as she swirled around and led him to the dark room with an alter lit with candles and a an old silver grail, "we'll be able to raise our lord now."

"Don't get so excited," he ordered as he slit his wrist and let the blood pour into the cup, "we only finished the first part, there are three seals keeping him in his prison. We can only now speak with him; I only know the first two steps, not the last."

"He'll be so proud of us, won't he?" She questioned as she waltzed up to wrap her arms around him.

"We'll be reward," he assured before he began a low chanting.

x-•°•°•-x

"Stop, stop, stop," she begged with big brown watery eyes, "Inuyasha, stop him."

"I thought you weren't going to give me the pleasure of pleading," he chuckled as he prepared himself for the first plunge, "how about a little screaming? These whimpers are such a turn off," he mocked as he licked her breast before clamping his fangs down around her nipple to spark a scream to finally leave her lips.

"Inuyasha!"

"He's not going to save you this time," he assured before grunting as he plunged in so rough that it made it hard for her to shriek again. One hand grasped her thigh, digging his claws into her delicate skin to the point of drawing blood, letting little lines of crimson creep down her skin as he slammed into her again.

He drew out to do it again but flinched instead as his entire body stiffened, his claws dragged across her skin until he retracted his hand to his forehead and grunted, "stop that, mutt."

Weakly, the dismal damsel pried open her teary eyes before finding the strength to say between shaky breaths, "Inuyasha, please…"

"Stop it," he growled.

"If… if you can get my hands free, Inuyasha, then… then get my hands free," she pled as he raise his other hand to grasp his head as well. "Inuyasha!"

"Ka… gome," he whispered as he tore his hand away from his hand and erratically reached his hand towards the belt but it felt like there was a ton of force pushed it away, still he willed himself further until he could tear the belt away before rolling off of her and wrapping his arms around his head.

She gasped as she sat up and pushed the shreds of the belt off of her bruised wrist before she could roll off of the bed and thump against the ground. With a wince she pushed herself up to crawl over to her purse, fitfully she rummaged through it until she found the charm she was looking for but by then a hand grabbed her arm and yanked her back, "Inuyasha!"

"I sent him away," he growled back as he grasped her chin and turned her towards him, "now, where were we?"

"Go to hell!" She countered as she shoved the silver pedant onto his chest, causing a cry as he toppled backwards. It ached each step but she managed to get to him before he got back up, she tied the string the pedant hung on around his wrist before she fell to the floor and gasped in a few deep breaths while he convulsed on the bed until a burst of black zapped out of him and disappeared.

"Inuyasha…?"

"Damn, my head," he grumbled as he sat up and rested his forehead in his hand.

"Thank God," she sighed as she grasped the sheets and wrapped them around her as she rested her head against the bed she sat against.

"K… Kagome," he muttered as his wide eyes looked down to her, "K… I… I am so sorry…"

"It wasn't you," she muttered as she shut her eyes.

"Kagome—"

"I don't want to talk about it right now!" She snapped as she grasped the sheets harder, "please go check on Remie and Minoru, see if they're alright…"

"Kagome," he murmured while he reached out to try and touch her only to have her recoil away from him, but… he deserved that, he knew it, so he silently rose up and found his clothes before reaching for the door handle, "should… I really leave you alone?"

"That pendant wards off demon possession," she muttered before she pushed her hair away to show her earrings, "so do these, Remie… gave them to me. Now please go."

He parted his lips just a bit but what more could he say?

So he left without another peep.

* * *

**Purple Hyacinth:** I am sorry; please forgive me (sorrow)


	20. Cyclamen

†**{ A** **R**_ose_ by **A**_ny_ **O**_ther _**N**_ame_…** }**†  
**x{ **_2_**0: C**_yclamen _ **}x**  
-•°•°•-

It was a lie.

Both Minoru and Remie were fine. There was little that threatened their safety, as they had been. Kagome told herself she should have known, her friends could handle themselves. Both were great fighters, both knew exactly how to get rid of demons.

It was apparent that Inuyasha had not told either what had occurred. The... incident, Kagome didn't know what to call it exactly. It _was_ Inuyasha's body, and under no other circumstance would she be able to say he - the man she loved - could rape her. But...

She shivered at the thought. It was a horrible one to start out with, one that she wanted to place in the very back of her mind then drowned it, to forget that ever happened.

Neither of them could look at each other, neither spoke to the other, each had equally conflicting feelings of what had occurred. Their comrades could tell that there was something wrong, but assumed that it was merely a lover's tiff of some sort and since neither wanted to come forward with what was wrong they would not pry. The two were worried a bit that whatever was the cause of the sudden awkwardness would get in the way of their plan.

That was way Remie had to ask, "you two going to be alright?"

Inuyasha and Kagome were quite for a while before Kagome finally spoke, "yeah... let's just get going."

"Well... about that, there's a bit of a problem," Remie murmured, earning Kagome's attention finally. The look of dread on her friend's face only made her feel worse about the situation. She frowned as she continued, "I lost track of where we were going. I've tried to use a few items but none are giving me clear results."

A heavy sigh left Kagome's lips as she sank in her seat more, shutting her eyes even in hopes of fading away for a moment or two.

"But," Inuyasha finally spoke, his voice sounded a bit odd. It might have had to do with the fact that he hadn't spoken all morning or the horrid feeling that was ripping him apart inside - guilt. "We need to find a way to... help..." Kagome, they all knew that was what he was getting at but for some reason he couldn't say her name.

Though, Kagome and him knew exactly why that was.

"I had an idea how," Minoru began, "and even Remie agrees it's a good one."

"Decent," she corrected, "I said it was a decent idea. Not the best we've had but... it'll have to do."

Kagome opened her eyes again, her hazels showed her concern as she looked between the two. All they could really see in them was tiredness. As if she had been up all night. They pushed it to the side, assuming that it had to do with her ailment. Only, they were half right.

"I've tracked a demon," Remie explained, "it's not far. If we get to it and get it talking it should be able to lead us to the place we need to go. The thing is, we'll need to be on the next train."

"I'm ready to go," Kagome assured them as she stood up, a bit wobbly at that.

"How about you?" Minoru asked as he looked to Inuyasha, all he did was nod in reply.

x-•°•°•-x

Just as Remie said, they were on the next train out towards a small town in Germany called Meissen. That was where the demon they sought had stopped in. Throughout the train ride there, Remie got out her map and used a pendant to check at least four times to make sure that it was still there. She had to use her wedgieboard, an ancient and actually function one unlike the ones you could buy in a toy store, to even find the demon. The spirits had guided her to one of Damian's left hand demon.

If Kagome had told them, they would know there was another demon they had to worry about - Naraku

If Inuyasha had said a word, they would know that there was a much worse one out there - the one who now possessed the body of Kikyou.

Yet, both couldn't say a word about any of that, the tense, swirling, nauseating feeling of what had already happened was too much for both. If either spoke about what had happened... they might have broken.

Except for some chatter between Minoru and Remie, much of the ride was in silence.

_Whatever this lover's tiff is, they better get over it soon, _Remie thought once they were exiting the train. She motioned for them to follow her.

"Once we find this guy we'll probably need you to grab him," Minoru said to Inuyasha. "You're the strong one, after all."

"Alright," was all he said in reply. Momentarily, he glanced to Kagome. She wasn't even looking towards him, it seemed as if the way she was walking was to be as far away from him as possible. Not that he could blame her... he let out a heavy sigh.

It was a short walk later, once they were in the heart of the small town, that Remie pointed out a blonde, rather thin, blue eyed man who was sitting at a table at a cafe. For the most part the streets were empty, and after a quick survey Remie found a room that would work well for their purposes. It took her, Minoru, and Kagome about fifteen minutes to quickly prepare it - writing demon traps and other symbols to keep the monster stuck there once they got him in.

In the heart of their largest symbol that they had drawn in a circle, they placed a chair. With a nod, Minoru gave Inuyasha the sign to go find and snatch the man. He had gotten a good enough sniff of his scent from earlier that it only took him a short while to find him once more. A thud to his head later - a rather violent one at that - and a quick grab to throw the limp body over his shoulder was all it took before Inuyasha sped back to the others.

Remie took over from there, tying him to the chair with a strange red rope.

"Demons can't break it," she explained when Inuyasha eyed it curiously, "it also binds them to the human body they are in. Meaning, this guy can't just exited it to avoid us."

"Oh," Inuyasha murmured back.

"Minoru and Kagome are best at this part, we should just stand back," Remie suggested as she led him to the wall. He was fine with that, since he really had no grasp on what was going on anyway. These demons were strange and far different than the type he was used to. He hated them with a furry since they made him feel weak and dumb.

Too weak to properly protect Kagome.

Too stupid to have seen their ambush coming.

Too useless to have been able to fight off the new demonic Naraku.

Too daft to have found something to say to make the situation even slightly better.

Too pathetic to have figured out a way to comfort Kagome.

It took a splash of holy water to wake the demon, and gain Inuyasha's attention back - mostly due to the shriek it let out and the way it seemed to burn him.

"We want you to answer one simple question," Minoru began before the demon could try to talk, "where is the key to curing our friend's curse."

The demon's crystal blue eyes shifted to Kagome, and a wicked grin emerged. "I know who you are. Remember how your father was possessed...? Remember how that led to his _death_?"

Kagome didn't stir, she knew how these demons worked when they were backed into a corner. They'd pull out any lie that would make their capture's react so they could manipulate them. It was probably common knowledge among them how one of their strongest enemies died. Though, it did cause a pang of pain to think about it. She hoped that didn't show.

"I was that demon, bitch," he chuckled when she flinched, "I made him do all those horrible things. Oh, and how he protested, but he was far too _weak _to force me out."

"Be silent," Minoru ordered as he splashed some more holy water in its face - causing another shrill cry of pain.

"Apparently most of the men you keep around you have that problem," he kept up as he shot a glance to Inuyasha, grinning again. "Don't feel too bad, it's hard to get us out."

This time it was Kagome that made him shut up, by pinning a silver talisman to his head that caused a terrible sizzling sound and the putrid smell of burning flesh.

"Tell us what we want to know or we'll just exorcize you and send you back to hell," she threatened.

"You'll do that if I tell you or not," he grunted as he glared at her, "so why should I tell you a damn thing?"

"We'll do it quicker if you do," Minoru answered as he pulled out a bag, he leisurely went through it until he pulled out a different talisman, one that was a bit rusted since it was made of iron. "Believe me, with time you'll realize how kind of an offer that is."

"Do what you like," he retorted. "I'm one of the tortures down stairs, so I know what _real_ pain is."

Minoru and Kagome shared a dull look before she gave a nod to him. Minoru grabbed a container of water then dropped the iron object into it. It looked as if nothing had changed, and if a human had drank out of it they would only notice the bad taste the rusted iron would have added. If a demon did... well, it wasn't pretty.

Minoru grabbed the demons face, tilted his head back and forced open his mouth to pour down the liquid. He flung about as much as he could while still be tied to the chair, screaming into the water which only caused him more pain since it allowed the liquid to enter his lungs. Remie and Kagome both looked away when the once tan man's skin turned a horrible boiling red, as if he was burning from the inside out.

After it was done, it took some time for the demon to spit out and cough up enough of the water so that he could breathe again. It took even more for him to regain himself enough to speak.

Before he could, Minoru warned him, "that's just one of the many toys we have. I suggest you talk."

His blue eyes narrowed upon him, "you have no idea who you are dealing with. The demon that now possesses your brothers body," he shot a cruel stare to Kagome, "do you even know its name?"

No... though the demon had been plaguing her family, they were never able to figure out his name which put them at a disadvantage. They couldn't do research on it, couldn't find its weakness.

"Azazel," he spat before laughing bitterly, "and _nothing_ you do will stop him. He shall rule this pathetic mortal ridden world someday."

"That wasn't the question we asked," Minoru reminded him as he began to dig through his bag again. That seemed to unnerve the demon enough for him to confess.

"There is a fortress in the forest to the south, within it is the only thing that may cure you of your ailment," he smirked at the thought. "Though you'll never find it. Plenty of things guard it, you all will die before getting to the right floor."

Kagome shook her head before Minoru found what he was looking for, he pulled out an old leather bound book, opened it to a page that was marked and began to recite the words written on the page. With each new word, the demon jerked from side to side, as if trying to fit a seizure. There was no use, as soon as Kagome cut the red rope from around him black smoke poured out of him. Unlike as one that was trying to escape, the smoke seemed to be weighed by something and cascaded down into the ground. It caused the wooden floor to sizzling as it disappeared, leaving a black stain.

"I am glad that didn't take too long," Minoru said with a sigh as he put everything back in his bag. "I guess we should regroup and figure out how to get to this fortress then?"

"Sounds like a plan," Kagome replied, briefly she glanced over to Inuyasha - he, too, was just chancing a glance at her at the same time. When their eyes met she looked away instantly, it was almost as if she jumped by just looking at him. "Remie, can you do some research on Azazel?"

"I've heard mythology about him," Remie acknowledged, "but I'll look into it more. For now, we should find a place to rest for the night. So, three rooms again?"

"Four," Kagome quickly stated, "in less you'd like to share a room with me, Rems."

She bent a brow at that, "well... that could be fun. Like a sleep over," she taunted as she walked up to her friend and wrapped an arm around hers. "What's up with you and Inuyasha?" she whispered, not that it mattered, Inuyasha could easily hear her.

"Nothing," Kagome muttered back, "just drop it, Remie."

x-•°•°•-x

He couldn't take it anymore. It was obvious Kagome could not stand his presence, he didn't blame her with being disgusted with him. He was, too. He had no idea what to do... no idea how exactly to label what had happened the night prior.

All he needed to know was that he had hurt her, breaking a promise he had made to himself long ago. He hurt the women he loved. Hurt her in a way that he didn't think he could fix.

There really was only one thing he could do to make her feel better, one thing that would surely help her and give her relief. He had to leave. He had to rid her of his pathetic presence. As soon as they got settled into the inn, each in their own room, he gathered what little objects he had with him and headed out into the evening.

There was no light, even thought it was not night fall yet. Heavy, thick, grey clouds covered the sky - smothering the sun out. Suffocating the light, and leaving nothing but darkness and the smell of a storm in the air. Maybe the rain could wash away his sins... he doubted it.

Where was he going to go? He had no idea.

What was he going to do in a land that was centuries ahead of him? He didn't care to think about it.

How was he going to get by in a land that spoke a completely foreign language? Again, he did not know.

But whatever problems he faced, whatever terrible troubles, he was sure he deserved it.

**{~**¤°•.¤°•.¤°•.¤°•.¤°•.**~}**

_The once luscious rose had hints of wrinkles, as if it were about to wither away, each of its petals that had fallen to the bottom of the container were crumbled and ruby colors drained. It was a pitiful sight of a flower that only had two petals left. One of which was hanging on a thread, ready to fall and leave the still faintly glowing flower with just one petal._

_One away from death..._

* * *

_**Cyclamen: Resignation & Goodbye**_


	21. White Tulip

†**{ A** **R**_ose_ by **A**_ny_ **O**_ther _**N**_ame_…** }**†  
**x{ **_2_**1: W**_hite _**T**_ulip _**}x**  
-•°•°•-

It was pouring out.

That was what Kagome focused on as she sat in her room, staring out at the bleak scene. Night had already taken the sky before the clouds started to form to start a furry filled storming. Lightening cascaded through the black clouds to cause a crackle and light up the town briefly. In between strikes, she couldn't really see anything. It was just that dark.

The rain pounded against the window she sat beside, for a brief moment she wondered if it could break the glass. Really, she didn't care about that... she didn't know how to feel about anything at that moment. A part of her didn't think it mattered.

It was only a short while before she didn't have to worry about anything anymore. She let out a shaky breath as she reached up to grab her chest. The curse had been hurting her more and more lately, she knew that it was only a short time before she was a goner. Even if they were close she wasn't sure that they had time to find the fortress and get through it to find the cure before...

If it weren't for the fact that the curse included damning her soul to hell, she probably wouldn't be so upset about everything. If it only meant death then she'd be fine with that. But going to hell... that scared her.

She swallowed as she looked to her bag, then raised her hand up to feel the pair of silver earrings she wore. They would protect her from being possessed but... she didn't think she had to worry about that too much. Inuyasha was still wearing the charm she put around his wrist so it meant they didn't have to worry about that.

_I was barely raped_, she told herself. That didn't change thfae fact that her hands hovered over the wounds that were upon her body from the incident. _And it was Inuyasha... but..._

It was hard not to look at him and think of Naraku's spirit in his body doing what he had done... but he was able to take control of his body again which was a sign of something. Since it was such a difficult task, she knew that meant something great about him. In all the times she had been possessed she had never had the will power to do that. Nor could Damian seem to gain control of his body from Azazel or her father but somehow Inuyasha did.

_I know he loves me_, but he had never really said it. She had, multiple times, but he had never said the simple words. It wasn't that she was mad at him... not that she held him accountable for what happened but... she didn't know.

Another strike of lightening through the sky caught her attention and forced her to look out the window again. Her brows bent together at what she thought she saw, silver hair. Was Inuyasha outside in this weather? Why?

So she sat there, waiting to see if in the next flash he was there. And he was... walking away. Where was he going?

Somehow, she knew. He was leaving. He blamed himself fully for what happened, she knew that even though they did not talk about it, that was just the way he would handle the situation. For a second she considered it a good thing that he was leaving, that she didn't have to look at him, didn't have to think about what happened.

That second past by quicker than the next flash of lightening - she couldn't see him anymore.

If she thought like _that_ then Naraku would win, that was exactly what he wanted, exactly why he took hold of Inuyasha's body to do what he did. It would ruin them, that's what he wanted. But... that's not what she wanted. She didn't want Inuyasha to go, to lose him over this, and she sure as hell wasn't about to let Naraku win or be the one to tear the two apart. If they ever fell out of grace with each other, it would be their own faults - not someone else, not a demons.

Quickly, she started to run out of her room to rush out of the inn and through the streets in the direction she saw Inuyasha go. Trying all the while to ignore the rain that slammed down on her. The town's street lights weren't working so well in the storm, only every three or so actually worked.

Thankfully, she had good enough skills to follow his aura and he wasn't going too quickly - maybe he was hoping that she'd follow him?

It was just outside the small town, near a barn, that she caught up with him. His ear twitched, he heard someone running up behind him - the sound of feet slopping through the mud and puddles - but because of the rain he could not smell who it was. Before he cared to turn around to see who it was a pair of thin arms wrapped around his neck causing him to halt.

"Kagome?" he guessed before he turned around to verify it. She looked like a mess, but he probably did too in that weather.

"Where are you going?" she quickly questioned in return before she returned her grasp to his neck, pressing her body against his. He didn't return the gesture. His arms remained limp at his side.

"I..." he swallowed heavily as he looked away from her. "Somewhere... I'm not sure. But I know you don't want to be around me anymore so…"

She was quite for a while before she leaned forward to press her lips against his soaking wet cheek, when she pulled away she whispered, "that's not true."

If it was anyone else, they wouldn't have been able to hear her over the storm, but he wasn't just anyone. His dark brows furrowed together as he looked back to her then to the barn they were near. He took her hand and led her in there, at least they'd be out of the rain for a bit.

"Kagome… I," he didn't know what to say. He didn't know what to do. He loved her. He didn't want anything to happen to her, he didn't want to leave her, but he couldn't stay if it hurt her. Regardless, he didn't have to think about any of that, he didn't have to express his concerns - at least, not verbally, since the next thing that happened was her lips collided with his.

Her eyes were shut, but his golden gaze scanned her face, she looked rather desperate. It wasn't out of passion or love like all the times before when their lips met. This time... it wasn't right.

"Kagome," he started again when she pulled away, because he wasn't participating in the kiss at all. "This isn't what you… want."

"You're wrong," she stated again as she leaned forward to kiss him. Her hands pulled his face more towards her, she pressed her body to him. He wrapped his arms around her, finally, and held her tight. He wanted to feel her, wanted to make amends for what he had done, wanted to make her feel better.

Then she pulled away, and he felt a pang of pain. Of course she'd want to do that… of course she wouldn't want him to touch her. Apparently he was wrong since she only did that so she could pull off her wet shirt and cast it to the side, then she kicked off her boots and undid her pants.

"Kagome…?"

"Don't talk," she requested as he pressed her finger to his lips.

He wanted to, to question the sanity in this, but he would do anything she asked and if she wanted him to shut up then… he'd shut the hell up. When she started to tug on his shirt he obeyed her request and casted it to the side. That was when they came together, his arms around her, hers around him, and their lips together.

He shut his eyes, and she did, too.

For that moment, she'd make sure that neither were worrying about anything else - not her curse, not Naraku, not their problems, _nothing_.

Her body pressed against him once more, while his hands wandered down her body, taking care not to press anywhere that had claw marks - _his claw_ _marks_ - or bites - _from his fangs_. Steps back led to her back being pressed against the wall, as their tongues moved together, as their lips meshed, as her hands moved down to undo his belt then his zipper so that she could silently request for him to take them off. He hesitated, but he did.

Really… he didn't know if this was a good idea or a terrible one. If this would help matters or make them worse. But he wanted to take this back - _sex_ was supposed to be something to show his affection to her, not to remind her of what had occurred. Which was she thinking about in that moment?

From the lack of her hesitation, he'd like to think that it was just about him. Just about her feelings for him, not about the other night.

He let out a shaky breath all the same as he removed his pants and looked over her, his brows bending in displeasure at the sight of all the marks that had marred her beautiful body. _I did that_… at least, that's how he felt. Naraku had been in control but it was his claws, his teeth, his body that had hurt hers.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered.

Her soft hazels shifted across his face, she didn't need him to tell her that, she could see it. "Sh," she whispered back as she pulled him close again. He instigated the kiss that time and lowered her down on a haystack nearby so he could do all that he planned. His kissed her everywhere that was hurt by him before, trying to make up for the fact, trying to show her how sorry he really was.

Every once and a while he felt her fingers stroke his hair, or ears, or broad shoulders in approval. And a smile almost arose - _almost_.

He could tell with a breath in that neither were really aroused. Did he want to change that? Or was he content with this? Her legs wrapped around his hips when he pulled up to look her in the eyes. He leaned into her touch when she let a hand stroke his cheek.

"I love you," he stated, she let out a heavy breath - almost as if a weight had been lifted from her chest from just hearing the words. "Kagome, I love you."

She pulled him down to her, starting a passionate kiss, small nibbles, meshing of lips, sucking, tongue tangling. Both their hands moved down to their underwear, he pulled his boxers off, she yanked her panties down. His hand moved down her stomach to gently pushing a finger in her, she gasped lightly at the motion.

They both remembered, in that instant, that Naraku had done the same thing to her. And that was why Inuyasha was doing it. He'd would do it roughly, like Naraku had, not hurt her, but gently pump in and out, to make her wet for him.

All the while, he whispered over and over again, "I love you, Kagome."

He kissed her in between declarations, up and down her shoulders and neck, to her lips, then back down again.

In one, soft, yet swift, motion he removed his finger and replaced I with something else. Again, she gasped, but this time for other reasons. She wasn't surprised this time, she knew he was going to do that, but… she was still aching below from the way Naraku had treated her.

All the same, she wrapped her arms around Inuyasha and let him gently sway in and out of her. What she focused more on, was the way he continued to kiss her. She'd murmur and moan into the, just as he did. But neither said anything else, mostly because neither could, not coherently at least.

She quietly cried out when he brought her to her climax, he followed suit slowly thereafter.

He moved down her, kissing her lightly along the way, before licking her clean below.

x-•°•°•-x

"I'm really fucking sorry," he started up after a while of just lying there with her. He didn't find it really comfortable, just as she probably didn't. The storm had let up, but it was still chilly outside and they were wet and naked, not to mention hay was far from nice. It was scratchy and poked at him annoyingly.

"I'm not going to worry about it anymore because it wasn't you," she assured him as she stood up to get her clothes back on. He followed her actions.

"Kagome, it was…"

"It wasn't," she countered as she pulled on her shirt. "Do you want Naraku to win?"

"Hell no," he snapped, "I don't know how he got out of hell but I'm going to put him straight back there."

"Good," she replied, "look, if we let this get at us, get _between_ us, then we'll be letting him win. If you eat yourself up about it then you'd be giving him just what he wants. I love you and you…?"

"I love you," he confirmed, supposing that was what she was looking for. The smile she gave him finally reassured him.

"Then we'll be fine," she held out her hand for him to take. _If I live through the next couple days… _which, she was beginning to doubt.

"Shit," she gasped as she began to pull him towards the inn, "we need to get back."

"Why? What's wrong?" he sped.

"I need to take my pill," they did just do it without any protection. Then again… she didn't really take it the night before in all the confusion but that couldn't such a big deal.

"Right," he muttered, "that thing."

He picked her up so that he could rush them back, more for the sake of her health then the pill thing. It was getting colder and her clothes were wet, the last thing the cursed girl needed was a cold. When they got to the inn, he let her down so they could walk in normally and up the stairs. He could tell that she was aching a bit still, so he picked her up as soon as they were on her floor. She smiled at him for that.

"Do you know what they call this style?" she questioned as he carried her into her room, "bridal style."

"What's that mean?" he asked as he pushed the door closed behind him.

"Well, on a groom carries his bride like this, after they get married," she explained.

"A broom?"

"_Groom_," she corrected, "the guy, the brides the girl."

"I know that," he grumbled as he set her down on her bed. Well, he knew the 'bride' term, but the groom thing was foreign to him.

"Usually it's when he's taking her to their honeymoon suite," she continued, knowing that she probably would never know what that was like… she'd never live long enough to get married. She'd never have a normal life.

"Honeymoon what?" Inuyasha asked with a bent brow. "What's a honeymoon? Some sort of food?"

"You have so much to learn," she said with a sigh and a small shake of her head.

"You're world is so weird, I kinda hate it," he grumbled.

"But love it, too?" she inquired with a pout, "cause I'm here?"

"Only because of that."

* * *

_**A/N:**_ **Really, thank you so much for the reviews.**_ Thank you everyone who reviewed. I appreciate **every single one of them**. It's really nice to get them, since it takes forever to write a chapter._

_**White Tulip: **Forgiveness_


	22. Christmas Rose

†**{ A** **R**_ose_ by **A**_ny_ **O**_ther _**N**_ame_…** }**†  
**x{ **_2_**2:**** _C_**_hristmas _**R**_ose _**}x**  
-•°•°•-

Together they lied intertwined in bed, lazily they'd been there since she convinced him to return with her back to the little inn. For a long while she had fallen asleep while he stayed awake for the most part. There was too much on his mind - _too many worries _- that his brain simply wouldn't allow him to slumber. But he wasn't going to interrupt her attempt at rest, so he just let her leave her head against his chest and lie there, sleeping.

Really, she needed all the rest she could get. The curse was eating away at her and faster than it was before. That was his principle dilemma, what the hell would he do if she died? How would he live with himself if he let that happen?

Gods. Things had gotten so complicated. Ridiculously so, far more than just finding the jewel shards and killing Naraku. That old trouble seemed to be so sublime in comparison. Now what all did they have to deal with? Kagome being cursed, the inability for him and her brother to exist at the same time, the trouble of Azazel hunting them down, Naraku's return, and an attempt for Azazel to open the portal to bring over the devil himself.

Great. That was all just _great_ because it was easier to deal with _that_ than it was to just worry about Naraku and the shikon jewel… not. Now they still had to worry about the jewel, of course. He let out a small sigh at such thoughts hoping not to disturb Kagome in the process.

The sun had already arisen and he knew soon Remie and Minoru would come for them - he could hear them both stirring in their rooms - so that they could go on a trek through the forest and try to find the fortress that supposedly held the cure to what ailed his lover. He couldn't lose Kagome… he just couldn't.

Not now that they had finally reach a point where he felt completely and utterly comfortable with her. Surely he'd never find that with another. If he lost her he'd lose his one chance at true happiness - he just knew it.

It was then that she began to stir some, moving her legs up his, cuddling closer as if seeking out warmth - so he pulled the sheets up her bare skin to her bare shoulders. For a short while he didn't think she'd wake up but then she moved once more, pushing herself off him lightly while forcing his eyes open to look around. A smile laced up her lips the moment she saw Inuyasha there.

"Good morning," she whispered while she laid back down to shut her eyes once more.

"Good morning," he replied softly. "Kagome… how are you feeling today?"

"Fine," she murmured, as fine as one in her condition could that was. She felt a strange pulling pain from within her chest most of the time, as if there was a warping void within her that filled her with darkness to suck out her life. How could she explain that to him? Moreover, how could she say that without causing him to worry further?

"We'll be going I search of that fortress today… if you aren't feeling up to it, Kagome, you can stay with either Minoru and Remie while the other one and me go in search of that place. You don't need to come, you can rest."

She could stay safely out of harm's way, which was exactly what it'd be if they went forward to go through the forest. It was for her benefit that he said that, that he didn't want her to go, and so that notion warmed her heart. He did love her, there was never a question about that.

All the same, "no, I've got to go. I can't have all of you do something that I wouldn't be able to."

"You could be a burden," he stated.

Again, that was something he said out of love rather than resentment, she knew that. If she thought of herself as a burden rather as help she could stay behind without any guilt but… she just couldn't. She had to go with them. She couldn't live with herself if something were to happen to any of them - well, she might not need to worry about that.

The way she felt… she just knew that she hadn't much time left. If they didn't find the cure soon she would be gone. She _hated_ that idea, she didn't want to die, she had so much to live for - she was reunited with her family once more, she had Inuyasha again, she had friends that loved her. She couldn't lose all of that, she couldn't just die.

Then there was Damian, she had to save him, she had to find out how to free him.

Yet that was a problem in and of itself. If the psychic she spoke to back in the feudal era was right, then she couldn't save Damian without letting Inuyasha die. Apparently fate found it funny to have him reincarnated as her half-brother rather than lover in her lifetime. She _loved_ her brother, he meant the world to her, he protected her - _died_ for her- and there was just a connection there that had instantly formed the moment they met.

But… Inuyasha. He was the love of her life, a person she couldn't imagine living without - neither could she think of a life with Damian anymore, either…

She shook her head lightly, that was something she didn't need to worry about yet.

First she had to worry about getting cured, if she were then she could worry about everything else. After all, if she were to die by the curse then none of that was really her problem anymore. She'd get to be the dead one, the one that left everyone else behind.

That left Inuyasha…

"I'm coming, Inuyasha," she asserted, "you know there's nothing you can say that will make me stay."

He pressed his lips into a frown at that thought. He'd feel better if she didn't come along, if she stayed safely behind, but he also knew that once she got something in her head it was impossible to change it. She was a stubborn brat - then again, so was he.

That was one of the many reasons he was certain they were perfect for each other.

"Inuyasha, Kagome, are you both in there?" Remie inquired as she knocked on the door. She had already checked Kagome's room to find in vacant. It had been odd that the couple elected not to sleep in the same room, that she rather demanded to be in a different one than him. The very last thing Minoru and Remie wanted to deal with on top of all the demon drama was couple drama but if she was in there with Inuyasha then they'd surely have gotten over whatever awkwardness they had been dealing with before.

"Yeah!" Kagome called out as she pushed herself off the bed to let her hazels shift around the floor in search of her clothes, "we'll get ready soon!"

"We're leaving in thirty minutes!" Remie replied with a smile on her lips as she walked down the hall to see Minoru already waiting there for her. "They've seemed to patch things up nicely. Though I don't even know what was wrong with them in the first place…"

"We could always patch things up nicely," Minoru taunted with a smirk, but all he got in reply for that comment was a roll of her eyes as she walked away.

x-•°•°•-x

They had gone as far as they could possibly go using the convenience of the twenty-first century transportation so they had to go the remainder of the way by merely walking through the heavily vegetated forest. It'd be a bit more amusing to Kagome if it wasn't such a strain to go on the hike. After all, it was so very much like when she used to go in search of shikon shards in the feudal era.

Though there was a big difference, this time Inuyasha's hand was locked with hers as they walked. They never would have done that back when she was just a teen. No, back then they never admitted their affection for each other. Now they had.

Now they knew that they loved each other and it felt brilliant.

"Kagome, you okay?" Inuyasha inquired as he turned his golden gaze back to her, she was walking a bit slower than him but she still forced a smile and nodded. As if that was going to convince him, he released her hand and stepped in front of her and knelt down. "Get on, I'm carrying you."

"Inuyasha, you don't have to do that - "

"I know, idiot, now get on," he ordered. For his harshness he felt a small slap upside his head but she still got on so he could grab her legs and stand up to start to walk quicker than before. A smile surfaced on his face when he felt her arms wrap around his neck and lips against the side of his head. His golden gaze shifted over to Remie, though, since she was the one leading them with a purple pendant that glowed and pointed them in what she could only assume was the right direction.

Hours went by while they wandered around the forest that slowly became darker and darker the later it got and the deeper into it they trekked. For the most part, they tried to stay quiet so that they could hear what was going on around them and to try and avoid being noticed. After all, they had no idea what type of protection the fortress might have.

"I think we are close," Remie whispered to catch all their attention. It was merely a guess on her part, but the way her pendant flashed made her think it would be an accurate one. They were all ready to get there, all eager to get this over with and have a healthy Kagome back but they couldn't just go in there hastily.

As Remie predicted, they arrived at the edge of a clearing within the forest shortly, one that held a towering brick building. Each of them allowed their gazes to shift around in search of whatever protection the place surely held. Quickly they noticed the people that lingered around it, going about in circles.

"They're possessed," Remie whispered, "I've got a couple charms that will render them useless, but if I use them now and there are more inside…"

"Might as well use them now," Inuyasha mumbled back, "if there are other things inside I'll handle it."

"You can't use your sword on possessed humans, Inuyasha," Kagome argued to gain his attention, "they can be freed if the demons leave them. They're still people."

He supposed she had a point but just lingering around there while they tried to sort out a plan didn't seem like a great idea to him, either, so he gripped, "Let's just get this over with already."

"Remie go ahead and use those charms now," Minoru recommended, "we'll just have to deal with whatever is inside later."

To that she nodded before she started slipped through the bushes they hid behind to fling out her golden charms to smack each of those who circled the fortress. Instantly, they all tensed up and small sparks flew before they all collapsed upon the ground. She waved for them to follow her in so quickly they all ran out and into the door that she opened to see essentially nothing.

Utter darkness swept the inside.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome questioned when she felt a hand grasp her side.

"Yeah?" he answered, squeezing her side some to verify that it was his hand that was touching her. "Stay close."

She nodded only to realize he couldn't see her, so she said, "alright."

It was then that a rumbling caught their attention, there was something _big_ in there from the way that each step made the entire building shake. Kagome's hand quickly found Inuyasha's to squeeze as she stepped closer to him - so much that she stepped n his foot. He grunted but didn't complain as he wrapped an arm around her waist.

In a flash of fire the huge room was illuminated to reveal a massive creature readying itself for an attack.

Her jaw dropped and hazels grew large, "is… is that a… a?"

"Dragon?" Minoru questioned, "yep."

"Remie, can you find whatever can cure Kagome?" Inuyasha asked, "does that pendant work in here?"

"Yeah," she replied as she looked at the still semi-glowing purple pendant as it pointed upward. "It's at least one floor above, maybe more."

"Alright then," he reached out to grab where he could smell Remie was located and removed Kagome's hand from his to connect the two. "I'll take care of this thing, you guys go find the cure."

"Inuyasha you can't fight a dragon alone," Kagome countered.

"I've got the best chance here," Inuyasha stated, "Minoru, protect the girls."

"Are you sure about this?" he questioned.

"Yes, now go," he ordered.

Really, Kagome wouldn't have left it Minoru and Remie hadn't dragged her away to find the nearest staircase. By then Minoru had managed to pull a flashlight out of his bag. She chanced a glance behind her before the door shot to the stairwell to see the dragon blow another breath of flames at Inuyasha while he unsheathed his sword and leaped away.

A dragon seemed exactly Azazel's style, it did have a fascination with fairytales and dragons were in quiet a few but… but a dragon was also what gave Inuyasha's father a fatal wound.

"I want to go back," Kagome protested once they reached the second floor, "someone needs to help Inuyasha."

"He says he can deal with it," Remie countered, "he wanted us to go forward without him."

"But what if something happens to him!"

"It's up one more level," Remie said once Minoru reached out to grab the door handle. He nodded and began to start forward once more to show the way with his flashlight.

"You two aren't listening to me!" Kagome complained while she felt Remie tug her up the stairs.

"We aren't," she assured her friend, "but what help could we be to Inuyasha? He's strong, right? Do you think that silly dragon will really be able to stop him?"

The sound of a dragon's roar tore through the building just then, causing a whole new level of worry to seep into Kagome's gut as they exited onto the third floor of the fortress. She would have turned around to run back down to make sure Inuyasha was alright if she had the ability. But… she lost the ability to walk and fell to the floor. It felt as if all her energy had been zapped in a moment.

"Kagome," Remie whispered as she knelt down to her friend, "what's wrong?"

"I… don't know," she winced as she grasped her shirt and shut her eyes tightly, "it… hurts a lot all of a sudden."

"Remie, stay with her," Minoru ordered as he began to walk forward, "I'll try to find whatever may help."

"Being around what holds your curse probably isn't helping you right now," Remie supposed as she brought her friend's head into her lap. "Just hold in there, Kagome."

Another tremble coursed through the fortress, one that the distraught damsel barely noticed in the midst of the pain that panged through her body. Yet, she did register it - just enough to start to worry all the more. What was Inuyasha up to…? Was he alright?

"Remie! I think I found what we're looking for!" Minoru shouted from down the hallway. At least he hadn't any idea how else to explain what he was seeing within the room he had opened a door to. He kicked a pebble on the ground into it to verify what it looked like - the pebble skipped across the ground until it reached inside where it plummeted downward in the black abyss.

There was no floor to the room except for a small stand that held up a glass container with a wilted rose within it, one that was down to its last peddle - one that was barely even hanging in there. It took a while before Minoru realized that it fit with a fairytale. Beauty in the beast, but he didn't remember the cure in that tale.

"Then get it, idiot!" She shouted back.

"I can't," he explained while he turned his gaze over to Remie, "there isn't a floor… so it'd be hard to get to the object."

"Then get some rope and lasso it or something!"

"Lasso it? What am I? A cowboy?" Minoru countered while his worried gaze shifted to his fatigued friend who was lying on the floor. "I don't have rope."

Remie meant to yell at him more, to tell him now wasn't the time to have such a negative do-nothing attitude but the door to the stairwell flew open to catch her attention instead. Her whole body tensed up, her hand reached for a talisman in preparation for whatever was to come. Yet once she saw who it was her shoulders slacked and a breath was released.

Inuyasha. He had some blood on him, though most appeared too dark to be his own, and he was sheathing his sword to rush over and kneel down next to her love. "What's wrong with her?"

"Being near the object the holds her curse is making it worse," Remie supposed as her gaze shifted over to Minoru. "If we don't get it soon Kagome… Kagome won't make it."

"Where's the object?" He asked sharply.

"Over here," Minoru called out to instantly gain the man by his side, he then pointed to the glowing yet dying rose. "I believe it's that but there isn't any floor so we don't know how to get to it-"

"I do," he countered quickly as he took a couple of steps back. He'd have to be completely accurate and it wouldn't be easy but he'd have to try. There wasn't any other choice. It was for Kagome. Besides if he fell how far could it really be?

"How will you?" Minoru began but before he had a chance to even finish his sentence Inuyasha leaped forward. He grabbed the glass and the flower within it to clear the stone that it sat upon so he could land, awkwardly, it took him a moment to gain his balance back, another to turn, and one more for him to leap over. "Wow…"

"Yeah," was all he said before he rushed over to Remie and quickly swapped places with her, so Kagome's head was in his lap and she could be the one holding the container. She delicately took the rose out, set it down, put some purple powder upon it and lit it ablaze so that a blue flame could turn it into nothing but ashes.

"Kagome…?" Inuyasha muttered once it was done, nudging her shoulder and try to get her to open her eyes. "Kagome?"

"Higurashi Kagome!" Remie shouted, "you are not allowed to die!"

"Uh…" Kagome murmured while she turned her head in Inuyasha's lap before pressing her lips closed tighter then allowed them to open so she could look around. "What… happened?"

"Thank the gods," Inuyasha said with a relieved sigh as she sat up, quickly he pulled her into a tight hug. "How are you feeling?"

"A bit crushed," she kidded, which loosened his grasp so she could pull away and look him over, "tell me that's not your blood…"

"Most isn't," he assured her as he looked over himself.

"Are you hurt? Where?" she frantically questioned while she ran her hands across his body, it was once she got to his side that he winced.

"Let's just leave this place and we'll deal with it later," Inuyasha requested as he pulled her to her feet.

"I agree with him," Minoru stated, "we need to get out of here in before something else happens."

So, her a bit reluctantly, they did just that to flee towards the closest civilization.

x-•°•°•-x

"Fuck," the possessed Damian hissed while he slammed his fists upon the table, causing his doll to jump to her feet and rush over to him.

"What's wrong, master?" the demon that hid in the form of Kikyou questioned with a pout on her face while she knelt down next to him.

"That damned group found the fortress," he grumbled while his angered auburns shifted down to her, "that little bitch is freed from the curse. Damn it all to hell! I was counting on that being the end of her! It's all because of that fucking hanyou that she's got with her!"

"Master, I'll take care of it," his doll assured eagerly, "just allow me to go to her-"

"Let me do it," another man requested after he walked into the room to gain both their attention. His hair was the color of the corrupted night, long and wavy, his eyes a deep shade of mahogany - almost red, even. If one were to pass him on the street they would probably think nothing of the pale skinned man… no one but them knew he was possessed.

"Last time I let you go to them you didn't do a damned thing," Damian grumbled bitterly, "you barely even raped her and that fucking hanyou and her aren't torn apart. You failed."

"I'll kill them this time," he asserted with clenched fists, "but not before making Kagome _suffer_ a horrific fate."

"If I let you go…" Damian began cautiously with narrowed eyes, "I expect results. If you fail me again I'll just take that as a sign of your weakness - I'll send you straight back to hell, Naraku."

He tensed up at that thought, to be in that burning pit of dismay and agony once more even made someone like him ill with fear but… for a chance to cause Inuyasha and his little whore pain he'd do it. He'd risk being sent straight back.

"Let me go," he requested once more.

"Fine," Damian muttered with a wave of his hand. "Do _not_ fail, Naraku."

So many times before - countless times - he had failed. He had let Inuyasha and his gang of annoyance get away but this time would be different. This time Naraku would succeed.

This time he'd make them suffer like never before.

* * *

**A/N: **_It's been a while since I updated this story, hasn't it? Well. To be honest I'm not so sure where I'm taking it. I have the next couple chapters planned out and general ideas but that's about it. If anyone has any ideas they'd like to suggested I wouldn't mind that. _

**I hope you're still enjoying and reviewing the story.  
**

_**Christmas Rose** - relieve my anxiety_


	23. Holly

†**{ A** **R**_ose_ by **A**_ny_ **O**_ther _**N**_ame_…** }**†  
**x{ **_2_**3: ****H**_olly _**}x**  
-•°•°•-

_****The A/N at the end of this chapter is highly important to the future of this story, please take the time to read it, thank you.****_

-•°•°•-

For the first time in forever she felt as if nothing was wrong. There was no ache in her body. No weight on her shoulders. She felt completely and utterly fine. The curse was finally gone and she was _fine_. She could jump from joy but she restrained herself and decided to leave Europe quickly.

Azazel's forces would follow them, and they were surely close to the castle, so they just needed to get as far away as quick as possible. Remie got them tickets and they were on a plane within twenty-four hours back to Japan.

"Why Japan?" Kagome asked with a lifted brow, "isn't that kind of obvious, shouldn't we go somewhere else?"

"You want to see your family though, don't you?" Remie replied, "their house is a very safe place now, after I got that friend of mine to place a barrier on it. So I figured that would be a good place for us to hide out at until we decide on what we are to do next. Speaking of which, anyone have any ideas?"

"Kill Azazel," Minoru suggested, which only earned a roll of the eyes from the girls, "well, I know that was an obvious answer but that's our goal currently, isn't it? He is trying to open a portal to let the ruler of hell out. Maybe if we stop him we can stop that whole plan. Besides… there's a chance that we could save Damain in the process."

"A chance," Kagome mumbled softly, but that chance meant she would have to give up Inuyasha. Her hazels shifted over to him, the man that could somehow manage to sleep in the ever so uncomfortable airplane chairs. Inuyasha… was the love of her life while Damain was her brother, her blood. It was too cruel to make her try and chose. She couldn't.

She didn't know what she could do…

"I have a friend in Japan that might be able to help us, she's in Osaka, though," Remie declared to earn her attention back.

"Let me guess," Kagome murmured dryly, "she's a psychic?"

"Yep," Remie chimed with a nod of her head and a sly smile, "but she's a good one, honest. She owes me a favor, so she might be able to at least point us in the right direction. We can spend a couple of days in Tokyo and then head over there to see what she has to say. If you're alright with that, Kagome."

"Yeah, sure," she didn't like psychics in the least but how could it hurt to consult one? They'd probably either be no help at all or actually be able to point them in the right direction. Or, the one that would annoy her the most, _pretend_ like she knew what she was talking about and lead them in a completely wrong direction.

Her father wasted plenty of time and money on psychics and in the end it didn't do him any good. He was still dead… and his mission in life was incomplete. Which left that burden on her once more but it wasn't hers to carry alone. She had friends that would help and, of course, Inuyasha.

Somehow, she was sure they'd make it through it. If she could beat that curse then she could beat anything… right?

Well, probably, at least there was a chance at it.

x-•°•°•-x

"Kagome, you're home so soon!" Her mother had cried out as soon as the door was opened. It took a split second for the two to wrapped their arms around each other and a short while longer for all four of them to gain entry into the Higurashi household. "I'll make enough dinner for everyone tonight."

"Mom, you don't need to do that," Kagome assured her with a small smile. It was so… nice being around her family again. For so long she dreamed about seeing them again, about it somehow being like it once was when she was just a teenager but she knew it couldn't. Her world was filled of danger and staying as far away from those she loved was the safest thing she could do.

Yet… she was there, at the house she grow up with, and within reach of her family again. It might not have been her best idea, she probably should have continued to listen to her father's advice and avoid them, but she couldn't anymore. She _wanted_ to be there, she _wanted_ to see them, and she _wanted_ them.

"Nonsense, it is not problem at all, Kagome," her mother assured with a wave of her hand, as if her daughter's statement was pointless. "I just need to make a run to the store."

"Allow me to come with you," Minoru offered with one of his most charming smiles, "if you are going to go shopping just for our sakes, then I should at least be there to help you carry home the bags."

"Well, if you insist," her mother replied with a small shrug prior to her grabbing her purse.

"Oh, I insist," Minoru answered with a firm nod and a smile towards Kagome. She just gave him one back, it would make her feel better if Minoru was watching out for her mother while she was away from the house. Really, she had no idea what she would do if something were to happen to her mother…

But when her hazels shifted up to the sounds of footsteps on the stairs her smile only brightened at the sight of her little brother as he rushed down to greet Inuyasha giddily. It was clear that he still looked up to the hanyou greatly. He didn't turn his attention to his sister until he was sure his mother was out of the house. "So, are you better?"

"Yes," Kagome replied happily.

x-•°•°•-x

After dinner was done, for some reason, Kagome could not seem to find Inuyasha. She searched the entire house, from top to bottom, so she supposed there were only two places he could be. When she stepped out of the house to see if he was by the Goshinboku tree all she saw was the white tassels attached to it sway in the wind. That meant he could only be one other place…

Slowly, she slid open the door that led to inside the well's hut. There he stood, in his normal red fire rat's fur outfit. The one he had been forced to leave at her house when they had left to Europe. A small frown slipped down her lip as she shut the door behind her to walk down the stairs. He had to know she was there but he didn't acknowledge her. He just stood there, looking at the closed well.

"What is it?" Kagome finally asked.

Cautiously, he turned his golden gaze to her. He didn't like her world, for him it was too confusing, too complicated, but he'd continue to stay in it if it meant he could be with her. It was just… he wished they could go to his world instead most of the time. The demons there were easy for him to understand. He could fight them. _He_ could protect her.

Here… he felt useless.

But instead of saying any of that he just said, "nothing."

"You want to go back?" she guessed with a small tilt of her head. Obviously he did and if they were ever to sort out everything that was wrong in her world and perhaps got a chance to live the rest of their lives together they'd have to make a final decision.

His world or hers…

"Yeah," he admitted as his gaze slowly turned back to the well, "there's a lot going on there right now, ya' know? The shikon is still missing, my… father is back, somehow."

"Right," Kagome whispered, she had almost forgotten about that.

"But I know we can't go, not yet," he mumbled softly as he withheld the urge to sigh.

"Well," she drew out as she walked all the way up to the well and opened it up to look down into the seemingly endless hole. "We could always just go see everyone, make sure that they're alright, tell them what's going on. It's not like we're short on time anymore."

She was cured, time wasn't running against them.

"Could we?" he eagerly asked, too eagerly, he hadn't mean from it to sound like he desperately wanted to go… even though that was exactly how he felt.

She smiled and nodded her head as she looked up to him, "of course. How about this? We'll stay here tonight, tell Remie, Minoru, and my family that we're going to visit everyone in the Feudal Era and then leave tomorrow morning. I would like to see Miroku and everyone else still, too. I am sure they must be worried about us, huh?"

"Probably," Inuyasha answered with a nod. They hadn't known everything that was going on but they knew enough that surely their friends pondered about them often. "Miroku said he'd return to his son, so if you want to see him we'd probably have to travel to his home. That'd take a while… we'd be in my time for at least week."

"I'm sure that will be fine," she said with a small one shouldered shrug. "Azazel did some meddling in your time, maybe if we figured out everything he did it would help us find out what he's up to. Perhaps we could even reverse some of the damage done?"

"Maybe," Inuyasha replied.

He… didn't understand much of what was going on but if they were back in his world, the place he knew best, he felt he would be more helpful. After all, he'd like to find out why Azazel brought his father back to life. And… if that was even his real dad or not.

* * *

**_A/N:_**_ Right, this was a very short and very poorly written rather useless chapter that was pretty much just written so that I could write this Author's Note. _

_So some of you might know that I have a poll on my profile page asking whether I should discontinue this story or not. Right now only about 15 people have voted and for the most part it's a 'no, you shouldn't, you should continue it' type of deal but…_

_Here's the deal. I'm still not 100% if I'll continue this story or not. I am going to complete Toyfriend and Diagnosed: Terminal & Needing Him before I return to this story. I might even want to complete Damned Deed before returning to A Rose-though, I don't know, I'm get stuck with Damned Deed often as well. _

_So here's my question, if I wait until I'm done with at least two of my other stories-hoping that inspiration for this story returns in the process-will there be any reviewers/readers left? Or should I just let the story die, and leave it up for anyone who wants to read the incomplete version? I really don't want to leave a story unfinished, especially one I have put so much time and effort in, but as I've said before I'm unsure what to do with it. I have a couple of ideas still but… I don't know. If I do decide to continue it I would probably go through and revise the earlier chapters. _

_And while reviews aren't the sole reason I write stories the fact that the last chapter only got **one** for a prolonged period of time then got three more (meaning a total of just four reviews, which is pretty low) is extremely disheartening. It makes me not really want to go out of my way to try and write for this story. If there is no interest in it anymore then I probably won't continue it._

_All and any opinions are welcomed, as long as they aren't bratty opinions that want to complain to me about how I should "continue to write regardless of reviews" or something of the sorts.  
_

**_Holly: _**_Defense (I just randomly picked it, probably doesn't go with this chapter that well)**  
**_


	24. Rosemary

**Author's Note**: I've re-read the story and made some alteration throughout it. Mostly fixing mistakes (sorry, I didn't realize how many there were) and not really altering anything with the plot. I started this story nearly two years ago, and along the way I got lost from what I wanted to originally make it. I've plotted out the remainder of the story so that I can get back on track with the way I wanted it to be.

Which means, yes, I will be continuing this story. I am unsure how long it will take but I want it to be done in the near future.

Anyway. I just wanted to thank everyone who has stuck with the story and will continue to review. I will continue the story for all of you who have not left it. Also, I really hate to leave things undone, especially when I've already put so much time and effort into this story. I remember there were times when I should have been studying for an exam and instead I was writing a chapter for this story. It would be a real waste not to finish it.

Thank you everyone who has reviewed and will continue to review and read A Rose By Any Other Name. Now on to the story.

* * *

†**{ A** **R**_ose_ by **A**_ny_ **O**_ther _**N**_ame_…** }**†  
**x{ **_2_**4: ****R**_osemary _**}x**  
-•°•°•-

* * *

Skeptic, Minoru and Remie were that at best about her and Inuyasha returning to the past. After all, was _now_ really the time to do it? Granted, the curse had been vanquished so death wasn't looming over the no longer dreary damsel's head. but that didn't mean it was time to slack off. If anything, they should focus their full forces on finding Azazel and a way to kill him. Going back in time five hundred years, before any demons like Azazel ever got out, could hardly be helpful.

"It's important to us that we do this," Kagome had insisted with a pout that neither could refuse. Even if they wanted to try to stop her they couldn't, she was going to go down the well whether they agreed to it or not. So, they might as well just give in and agree.

"Saying goodbye so you could go down the well again," her mother mused once she told her she'd be going with Inuyasha back to his time to check on their friends there. A strange, nostalgic, smile was upon her small lips before she hugged her daughter tight. "It makes me think that you're in middle school again, all that's missing is that big yellow backpack and uniform of yours."

"You come back safely," her mother ordered prior to reluctantly let go of her.

"Of course I will," Kagome had assured her. This time she was certain she'd be back safe and sound, without any problems. After all, Naraku was no longer in the past to worry about and they really didn't have a quest they needed to go on. They were just going to go back, see how Miroku and Sango were doing, and then return to focus on the new mission they had.

Then they'd just figure out what to do next… that part neither of them wanted to really have to think about. Who's world would they stay in? They probably couldn't continue to hop back and forth between the two, they'd eventually have to pick one time over the other. If… that was, they were still together in the end.

"Ready?" Inuyasha inquired as she slung her bag over her shoulder and walked into the hut where he was already waiting.

"Yeah," she replied with a nod as she held out her hand for him to take. Instead of bothering with something so small, he held her around the waist so he could pick her up and leap into the well with her. Probably without him they wouldn't have been able to get through, but he was there and the well - for reasons beyond them - always seemed to work for him.

With little effort he was able to leap up with her to get out of the wooden square. For a moment, they both looked around at the scenery they knew so well. It just verified that they were indeed back in his time period. The one he highly preferred, the only one that made any sort of sense to him. Once everything was settled in Kagome's world, he would return to his. There was just no way that he could adjust to all the strange things in her time… no, he really couldn't.

He just hoped she'd come back with him, too. But that meant she'd have to leave her family behind… was she willing to do that for him?

All he did was take a breath in to try and forget about that. For the time being they were together and he didn't have to worry about the future. They'd just take one step at a time. The next one was finding Sango and Miroku, which meant going to Mushin was their best bet.

"Do you want to visit with Kaede quickly before we leave?" Inuyasha inquired as he looked over to Kagome, who finally seemed to be done looking around so she could turn her attention to him. She smiled and nodded before they began forward, at a nice pace.

For so long they had been in a rush. A rush to kill Naraku, a rush to find he jewel shards, a rush to free her from the curse but right then there was no reason to hurry. Granted, their lives weren't perfect yet.

Azazel was still a problem, her half-brother was still possessed by him, and he was still trying to open a portal to let the ruler of Hell out. That was a _serious_ dilemma. One they would need to fix but for the time being they couldn't do anything about it.

A smile slipped up his lips when he felt her fingers interlace with his, it was a small gesture and in comparison to all the things they had done it was really nothing but… it still managed to warm his chest. He still liked it, just as she did.

"Greetings," Kaede started after they knocked and walked in. "I am glad to see ye well, child."

"Yeah, we fixed things for the most part in my time," Kagome replied as she took a seat next to the old lady. The 'for the most part' was probably the most important section of her statement. Things weren't perfect. They still had plenty they needed to do but after everything… she felt they needed a break. And this one served a purpose. They'd try to figure out what Azazel was up to when he made a deal with Rin, maybe even others while he was there, and check up with their friends.

"We came back to see Sango and Miroku," Inuyasha stated, "I told them I'd bring Kagome back safely, and I did."

"Of course ye did," Kaede answered with a small nod of her head. In Kaede's mind, she couldn't imagine a situation in which Inuyasha would fail to do just that. It was clear to anyone with even just one functional eye that the hanyou cared deeply for the female from the future. And when Inuyasha cared about something he was hardly about to let anything bad occur to them.

"But they aren't here," Kaede announced, "Sango went in search of her slayer comrades while Miroku returned to his son."

"So our best plan would be to go to Mushin's to see Miroku, he'd probably know where Sango is by now," declared Inuyasha with a nod.

"Aye, that's true," Kaede acknowledged, "but ye two should stay for lunch before leaving. I was going to prepare some rice and fish. There is enough for the two of ye."

"Sure," Kagome chimed. She hadn't had a lot of time to spend with the old priestess that she had thought of like a grandma for a long while. So why not spend the morning and part of the afternoon with her? And with the promise of food, Inuyasha hadn't any qualms, either.

x-•°•°•-x

Some of the nicest memories she had included her on Inuyasha's back, her arms wrapped around his neck, as he ran towards whatever their destination happened to be at that point in time. Back when she was too shy to express her feelings for him, too frightened by the prospect of him not returning her affection, she had treasured the moments where she could be so close to him. When she could even hug him without him thinking anything of it - other than she didn't want to fall off.

It was fun, too. She liked the feeling of the wind in her hair, of his arms around her legs to keep her there with him, and the way he could leap so high in the air to go farther quicker than any human could have ever hoped. That time they were heading towards Mushin's temple but well before they got there Inuyasha slowed to a stop in the midst of field.

At first, she just thought he was tired and needed a break but then she realized how they hadn't been at it for long. It wasn't like him to ever volunteer to take a break. Someone else had to nag him into it.

"Inuyasha…?" Kagome questioned softly to finally gain his attention.

Sometimes he forgot that people didn't notice things like he did. How Kagome was just a mortal and the scents in the air that he could smell didn't mean she could. "Sesshomaru's nearby with…"

"Your dad?" she guessed with a tilt of her head so she could see his face. From the expression of uncertainty on it she guessed that meant a 'yes'. "Do you want to go see them?"

"I don't know," he muttered back, "even if he really is my dad… he doesn't remember me. He doesn't remember my mother, so what would be the point?"

"Because you sort of want to go," Kagome guessed, the fact that he remained silent seemed to be another 'yeah'. "Come on, Inuyasha, let's go. What harm could it do?"

"Keh, how about you think about all the times we've run into Sesshomaru before," he requested begrudgingly.

"Inuyasha," she drew out while she slid a finger across his jaw line, which got him to turn his head to see Kagome, a pout on her face. "Let's just go."

"It's in the wrong direction," Inuyasha mumbled, "of Mushin's place. We'd be wasting time…"

"Inuyasha," she snapped, "we're going so let's _go_ already."

Well, if she was going to be a so stern about it then why would he say no? So he turned and started off in the direction he could smell the scents that were so similar to his but different at the same time. They were _full_ demons while he was just a half-breed.

For so long he had wanted to be just like them. For so long he yearned for nothing else, he'd do anything to be able to become like them. For so very long… he didn't think that he'd be accepted if he was anything but a full-blood. But then Kagome came around and changed all that. He was just a hanyou and she found a way to love him anyway.

When they got into the heart of a thick forest Inuyasha knelt down so that Kagome could step onto the ground. Just through the trees stood the two silver haired men, seemingly discussing something of interest to the both of them, while Rin played about with the two headed dragons. It didn't take long for either the inu-youkais to realize that someone was near them. Nearly at the exact same time, their golden gaze shifted to him.

For a while, they were both silent, until Sesshomaru's eyes shifted over to Kagome then back to his father.

"Inuyasha," Inutaisho slowly started, but then he stopped. He didn't know what else to say.

"Hi," Inuyasha replied, since, really what else _could_ he say? The man was his father, supposed to be dead, and had no memories of him or his mother. Not that if he was even brought back with all his memories he would have had too many of Inuyasha. He did die shortly after his birth, at least that was what his mother had told him one of the very few occasions she spoke of him.

"Sesshomaru and Myoga have enlightened me on some of the situation," Inutaisho declared while his golden gaze glided down then back up Inuyasha. "You are… my son."

He wanted to say 'well, duh' since his scent said that in and of itself but he decided against that and just glanced to Kagome instead. Her eyes were already on him, as if she was analyzing how he was handling the situation. That bugged him some but he knew she was only doing it out of affection, so he decided against complaining.

"Apparently I did have a human mistress," Inutaisho recalled faintly as his attention turned to his eldest son.

"No, shit," Inuyasha retorted, which instantly caught the Lord of the West's attention once more.

"It insults you that I can't remember your mother?" Inutaisho guessed, to that he just got a dull, yet highly annoyed, stare in return. That was probably a 'yes'. "Apparently I shouldn't even be alive…"

"I leave you two to talk," Sesshomaru stated as his almost always hard sunlit stare shifted to Kagome, it took a moment for her to notice it before he started to walk away. Somehow she just knew what that meant.

"I'll let you two have some alone time, too," Kagome decided as she took a step away, even though Inuyasha's eyes instantly turned to her. She knew what that meant, too, he didn't want her to go. He didn't want to have 'alone' time with his father. It was an awkward situation as it was, he would have rather had her by his side. Instead of responding to any of that, she just smiled and gave a weak shrug of her shoulders before she turned away.

A part of her did want to stay there and give him moral support in the trying position he was placed in but she also thought that they'd get more done without her there. That and Sesshomaru seemed to walk her to come to him, so reluctantly she did walk around the forest until she found him. He didn't seem to acknowledge her presence, instead, all his focus was upon Rin as she laughed with the two-headed dragon.

"The deal Rin made with that demon," Sesshomaru slowly started, "what will become of her?"

"Nothing good," Kagome answered honestly which did get his harsh stare. "If I had to guess, her soul's now damned to Hell. Which really, really, really isn't good."

"Fix it," Sesshomaru ordered ever so harshly. Enough that even she jumped a little.

"I… don't know if I can," she replied meekly, "I think that maybe if we kill the demon than it should mean Rin's freed from her deal with him but… I don't know if that is true or not. I'd have to consult a few more people on the matter."

"Where _is_ this demon? I will just do it myself," Sesshomaru insisted.

That was hardly possible. Sesshomaru couldn't cross through the well to get to her time and even if he could she doubted his abilities to kill Azazel. So the simplest answer was, "he's not anywhere near here. I'm not really positive where he did go. But Inuyasha and I are going to find him and kill him. We'll do whatever it takes to free Rin."

"If you need any assistance…" he cautiously started, "I will offer it."

"You never know, we just might need it."

x-•°•°•-x

Weirdly quiet, that was what Kagome thought at least once Inuyasha found her playing with Rin and told her it was time for them to go. That was the last thing he had said, since then they had just been flying along without any sort of conversation. It concerned her a little…

"So, what did you and your father talk about?" Kagome questioned.

"Stuff," he answered only to spark an eye roll in return. _Stuff_, of course. Could he be more vague?

"What _type_ of stuff?"

"I'm not ready to talk about this," Inuyasha answered earnestly. "I just… don't know how to feel, alright? So let's just drop it."

"Fine, fine," she muttered back. Once again he slowed until they were stopped in their tracks. She could only assume it hadn't anything to do with Sesshomaru or his father once more but… she just stayed quiet until he knelt down some and slipped his hands off of her so she could land on the ground. "Inuyasha?"

No sooner had she spoke, before two wolf youkai stumbled into view, bickering over something apparently. The one with the Mohawk was the first to notice the others, instantly a glimmer flickered through his eyes when he saw Kagome standing there. The other, also, noticed them then and the same thing affected him.

"Ginta, Hakkaku?" Kagome questioned in a bit of awe. It had been forever since he had seen either of them.

"Kagome!" They chimed in unison before Ginta continued alone, "how are you? It's been too long since we last saw you! Inuyasha told Kouga and us that you returned to your land."

"I did, that's true," Kagome answered with a nod of her head. "But now I'm back. How is Kouga?"

"Oh, Kouga is great!" Hakkaku asserted, "he and Ayame mated four seasons ago now. They just had a child, a baby boy. He'll be our next pack leader once he's older."

"Really?" She giddily asked, a bit of a bounce to her steps, too. "That's so wonderful for them!"

"Would you like to come back with us? I'm sure Kouga would be happy to see you," Ginta offered while Hakkaku eyed Inuyasha and said, "probably not so happy to see you."

"We're busy, we don't have time to stop and chitchat with him," Inuyasha insisted.

"Sure we do, it won't take that long," Kagome countered with a wave of her hand, "I want to see his baby and Ayame. Come on, Inuyasha."

"Their den is in the completely _wrong_ direction than Mushin's," he grumbled back, "I know you said we weren't in any hurry but we've got shit to do all the same, Kagome. We don't have time to stop every time we come across someone we used to know."

"Just this one time," Kagome requested as she raised a single finger and pouted, "please?"

He groaned at that but… when she frowned like that, then how was he supposed to say no? So, much against his will, they diverted from the path they were meant to take to go on a much longer route back to the den of Kouga's wolf pack. It took until dark for them to actually reach it… which meant, they'd be stuck there for the night.

Inuyasha couldn't have been more displeased. Especially when Kouga caught sight of Kagome and a stupid smile slipped up his lips while he rushed over to greet her. Then when he got ever more excited at the notion of introducing her to his son, who looked only a month or so old. Ayame, too, was proud to show off their son. Probably a little to say 'see, showed you, I'd get Kouga.' In the end, she did.

Not that Kagome had ever competed. Why the hell would she have wanted to when she have wanted to when she had him, anyway? Kouga, full-blooded demon or not, was always weaker than Inuyasha. He could have never protected her from all the shit that had happened like he had.

"It's a little weird…" Ginta whispered late into the night, when the most of the pack was sleeping and they were outside the cave just chatting. Her, Hakkaku, and him. Inuyasha was off sulking somewhere about having to come.

"What is?" Kagome questioned.

"During the birth, everyone was sure for a while there that Ayame and the baby were dead but… after a while she was apparently fine and so was their baby."

"Is that so? That's… weird."

"Hey, what are you guys doing out here?" Kouga asked, gaining all their attention almost instantly.

"Nothing," Ginta and Hakkaku answered. The fact that they were so quick with such a strange high pitch voice made him figure that something was wrong. So he just narrowed his eyes on the two and said, "can you two excuse us?"

Once they were gone Kouga walked over to sit next to Kagome, glancing back in the cave to make sure they were really gone. Slowly, his crystal blue eyes shifted back to the girl who was always in a strange outfit. Strange clothes… just like the guy before and then there was the similar scents. Maybe she'd know… or maybe she wouldn't.

"Ginta and Hakkaku told you about what happened when Ayame had our son?" He only waited for her to give him a weak nod. "She… she actually did die, so did our son. But then this guy showed up, in weird clothes like you wear, and then your scent is similar…"

Instantly, she felt her heart sink into her stomach. She knew exactly what he was talking about. Damian… it had to be him. "And what of it? You made… a deal with him? To get Ayame and the baby back?"

"How'd you know?" he asked with a bent brow.

"Because… that's what happens," that's what always happens. And then their soul is damned to the pits of Hell. "Inuyasha and I are going to fix this."

"What's there to fix?"

"He asked in return for a favor that you can't refuse, right?" It was her turn to wait for a nod from him. "Look… that was a demon, a bad one, and Inuyasha and I are going to go try to kill it. So once we do that it won't be a problem anymore. Trust me."

"Alright" Kouga muttered back. "Should I be… concerned?"

"No," Kagome assured her with a smile.

Because one way or another, Kagome was sure they'd get rid of Azazel. They just had to… she _needed_ to free her brother from the prison he was locked in. Though, she was still unsure to do that.

* * *

**A/N**:_ Oh, and I know I said I probably wouldn't return to this until Toyfriend is done but… I have writers block for both Toyfriend and Damned Deed. Whenever I sit down to write for either I get nowhere… it sucks. But after I re-read A Rose I got inspiration back for this story so I guess I'm sticking with this one until I can figure out how to write a chapter for the other two. It's kinda like I can't work on all three at once... weird. _

**Rosemary**: remembrance


	25. Balsamine

†**{ A** **R**_ose_ by **A**_ny_ **O**_ther _**N**_ame_…** }**†  
**x{ **_2_**5: ****B**_alsamine_**}x**  
-•°•°•-

It was nice to see Kouga and Ayame having a life that seemed to make them happy. It was great that they got a child but… at the risk of making a deal with Azazel? Kouga didn't know what he was getting himself into, hell, even Kagome didn't know what Azazel was up to. Obviously, he still wanted to open that portal to get the leader of Hell over or whatever.

But what did making deals with people throughout time have to do with anything? How did that help? Did he just want their souls? What could he need them for…?

All those thoughts ran through her head, but none of them were comforting so she wasn't about to share them with Kouga. He had a mate and child to look after now. Somehow, her and Inuyasha would find a way to solve his problem so that he wouldn't have to worry about it. At least that's what she was hoping.

She just… wanted it to be over with finally. Her brother was possessed, her father dead, and her life constantly screwed with, and all for what? To fight an enemy that seemed to be endless in supply? If they were able to kill Azazel, to stop the assault that he was preparing, would that really be the end…?

She doubted it. Then what? She was supposed to fight the battle forever? She groaned at the very thought, it was all so hopeless…

"Kagome?" caught her attention, finally snapping her mind from the endless circle it had been travelling. With a smile she looked over her shoulders to see Inuyasha standing there, stretching rather, as he walked out of the cave to join her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she assured him once he sat down next to her. She took that opportunity to wrap her arm around one of his then rest her head against his shoulder. "I was just thinking about something. Nothing important."

"Alright then," he replied as his golden gaze shifted around the entrance of the cave. Some of the pack was already awake and wandering around. "So, I think we should probably get a move on. Mushin's place is not even a day's trip from here. We could get there by night fall if we leave now."

"Sounds good," Kagome assured him as she pulled away to stand up, "let's just say goodbye to Kouga first."

"You two leaving already?" The wolf pack leader questioned which got them both to look behind them.

"We need to go see Miroku," Kagome answered while Inuyasha got up, too. "Kouga… the whole thing with Azazel… you don't need to worry about it, okay? You won't ever have to keep your word. We'll kill him."

"I have faith in you guys," Kouga assured him, giving a nod of approval even to the hanyou he had always been at ends with.

"You should," Inuyasha insisted before he knelt down some, "get on, Kagome."

"We'll see you later, Kouga," she said as she did as Inuyasha told her. When she had her arms around his neck he stood up and leaped off the cliff side in the right direction. At his speed it would probably take less time to get there but he never really did enjoy spending time with the wolf demon. He liked it even less when he was around Kagome.

It was an irrational jealousy, he knew it, Kouga's life belonged to Ayame now - the mother of his child, the love of his life, and mate. Still… all those times he tried to steal Kagome away annoyed him. Better safe than sorry, not that Kagome would ever leave him. He knew better than to think that. They had he had been through so much together, there was simply no way anyone could steal her from him.

"What are you thinking so intently on?" Kagome teased as she held him a little tighter.

"Me?" he inquired, "nothing… it's nothing."

"If you say so," she hummed back.

x-•°•°•-x

It was a long while before sunset when they actually arrived in Mushin's. Which meant that he was right, at his speed he'd be able to get to the temple before he had originally predicted. Kagome seemed to notice that, too, when she got off of him so he could stretch.

"I thought you said it would take us longer," Kagome pointed out as she turned around to look at him at him. "Or did you just want to get away from Kouga?"

He just grinned at that, an answer in and of itself, as he finished the short walk to the front of the temple where he could knock to try and get someone's attention. Kagome followed him up to the porch, it took a short while before the old, bald, drunkard Mushin opened the door. His small eyes widened some at the sight of them.

"Well, this is surprising," Mushin declared, "I did not expect to see you two in the near future. Miroku told me that you went back to Kagome-sama's land to fix a problem there. Have you already succeeded in doing so?"

"Uh," Kagome dragged out as she glanced to Inuyasha before returning her hazel gaze to Mushin, "no, not really, we are just taking a break. We wanted to come see how Miroku was doing."

"Oh, yes, well, he's in Michio's room I believe, come in," Mushin requested as he stepped aside to allow them to walk in.

"Lead the way," Kagome asked as she looked to Inuyasha. He was the one with the good nose, the one that could find Miroku's scent and follow it, which is exactly what Inuyasha seemed to do. She just had to follow him through the place to find the right room. He was ready to just open the door but Kagome grabbed his wrist to stop him from doing that. Instead she knocked.

In nearly no time, Miroku opened the door, giving them much the same surprised reaction as Mushin had.

"Kagome… Inuyasha?' he said with puzzlement spewed across his face, "what a surprise, I thought you two would be longer in your world. Have you fixed things already?"

"No, not yet," Kagome answered with a bit of a frown, "but we wanted to come and see you and Sango-chan."

"That's very nice of you," Miroku assured as he stepped aside so that the two could enter the room. That allowed them entrance into Michio's room, which meant Kagome got to pick up the happy baby boy and visit with him again. "Sango is not here, since Naraku is apparently dead… her and Rensei returned to what is left of their demon slaying village to repair it. Last time I checked, they planned to wed there."

That was saddening news to say the least, if Sango returned with Rensei to their village then that meant… Sango and Miroku never talked about their feelings like Kagome would have hoped. Her friend was still going to get married to the man that didn't deserve her, not like Miroku did. No one could love her like he did, that's what Kagome tended to think.

"You two are welcomed to stay the night," Miroku offered with a smile as he watched Kagome sway Michio to his gleeful enjoyment. "You are very good with him, Kagome."

"He's so cute," she cooed in reply, "are you going to be a lady's man like your daddy, Michio-kun?"

"Oh, haha," Miroku countered while his violet gaze shifted over to his hanyou companion. "How are things going, Inuyasha?"

"Fine," he replied with a shrug of his shoulder. "Kagome is better now… but there are still things going on her world that she needs help with. We're only going to be back for a short while before we have to return. I'm not sure… how long it'll take or even if I can be much help to her."

"Inuyasha," Miroku murmured as his gaze returned to the girl that was still giddily playing with his son. She apparently was out of hearing range or else she would be arguing with Inuyasha's statement herself. "I am sure you are a great asset to her."

"I don't know… her world is confusing, the battle over there is really different," he quietly complained, "I want to help her, I _need_ to protect her but… I just don't know, Miroku."

"You are always too hard on yourself," his friend countered. "Just… at the very least, savor the time you have together then. To be able to be with the woman you love… it's a very precious thing, Inuyasha."

"I know that," he asserted as his golden gaze shifted back to Kagome, "I'm not stupid."

He knew, even with all the hellish things they had to endure, the mere fact that they were still together was a blessing. That he got to _be_ with her was a lucky thing. He just hoped, more so than anything ever before, that in the end, they could still be together.

"Are you hungry? I could start dinner," Miroku offered.

"I'm _starving_," Inuyasha inserted with a grin.

"You always are," Miroku chuckled with a small shake of his head.

x-•°•°•-x

They were in a rush, things _had_ to get done in her time, so as much as it pained them they couldn't stick around in the feudal era forever which meant they didn't have the time to actually linger at Miroku's for as long as they pleased. They got to see him, tell him that they were alright, and Kagome even got to play with Michio some but the next morning they had to leave.

It would take maybe a day or two to get to the slayer's village that Sango was apparently at, even at Inuyasha's speed, so they said their fond goodbyes and parted ways so that they could start on their way. Again, Kagome got to hitch a ride on Inuyasha's back, which meant they would get to the village as quickly as possible.

Unfortunately, the farther they went the farther they were from Kaede's village and the well. Which meant that in the end, they would have to take even more time to get back. Maybe Minoru and Remie were right.. maybe it was foolish of them to go back in time and see their friends. But it had been important to Inuyasha, he was feeling so homesick, that Kagome felt the need to appease him. To take her back to the world that he loved, that he knew, that he felt right in.

It was only for her that he lingered in her world. The world that made no sense to him, but he did it… so for him, she thought that going back in time was necessary. They would have lost a week, maybe, but probably in the end it was work it. Inuyasha would feel less edgy, better, and they might even be able to get more work done.

"Is that the village?" Kagome questioned as she pointed forward to the fenced off area ahead.

"Probably, a slayer's village would want a barrier that high," Inuyasha replied with a nod of his head before he slowed down at the front of the walls. He knelt down to let her off so they could walk together to try and find the entrance.

"Sango!" Kagome called out, "it's Kagome and Inuyasha! Are you here?"

A creek answered them as the gates slowly began to open up until they could see two men there. They were in Rensei's slaying group but Kagome couldn't remember which one was which, apparently, Inuyasha could.

"Hey, Takashi, Muro," he greeted with a nod of his head, "is Sango here?"

"Yes," Takashi answered as he waved the two in. Once they were past the gates' door they manually had to push them shut. "I'm not sure where, you'll just have to look around. I'm sure she'll be glad to see you two."

"Great," Inuyasha replied before him and Kagome started their search around the still being rebuilt village. Through the efforts it appeared a majority of it was repaired. It probably wouldn't take much longer to fix up what was left. "I can smell her this way."

"They got a lot of work done already," Kagome commented before Inuyasha led her to one of the huts, he didn't both to knock before he opened the door to find Sango inside, apparently making a meal. When she looked up shock coated her face first before she smiled.

"Inuyasha, Kagome-chan, what a surprise!" she declared as she stood up to walk over to her friends. "Have you sorted everything out in your era already, Kagome-chan?"

"No, unfortunately not, but I'm better now and we've got a lot of the problems sorted out," Kagome answered while she closed the gap between her and her friend so that they could give each other a hug. "Inuyasha and I just came back to visit with you and Miroku. We just came form Mushin's."

"Oh," she chimed before forcing a smile and asked, "so… how is Houshi-sama?"

"He's fine," Inuyasha inserted while he glanced over the pot that was above the flames, "so what are you cooking?"

"Inuyasha," Kagome said with a sigh.

"A stew, and yes, Inuyasha, there is plenty for you, too," she assured him, "but it won't be ready for a while."

"In the mean time, why don't you go see if you could help the others fix up the place?" Kagome inquired, "with your strength I'm sure you could be a great help."

"Yes, that's true," Sango concurred, "Rensei and the others could really use another able bodied man."

"Fine," Inuyasha grumbled with a roll of his eyes before he turned around to exit the hut. He hardly wanted to help rebuild the village but… whatever. If it meant he got some stew later, he'd do it.

"How are things, Sango-chan?" Kagome asked as the two sat down around the cooking stew.

"Things are going well, I think."

"So… this is what you want?" she just _had_ to inquire as she looked over the area, "to get married to Rensei here? To be the good wife that cooks for all the hard working men…?"

"You made that sound awful, Kagome-chan," Sango countered. "I help rebuild the village some, too."

"I'm sorry but I don't get it… I don't get why you guys think that rebuilding the village will somehow bring it back to life. How can it? Just because the buildings are fixed doesn't mean that you'll have anymore slayers. It'll still just be you, Kohaku, Rensei, and the ohters."

"Yes, only until Kohaku and the rest find wives that will submit to this way of life, then we would be the five founding families. In a couple of generations things will be back to the they used to be," Sango answered, "that's how it worked the first time. That's how it'll work this time."

"But… Sango-chan," Kagome muttered, "in a couple of generations there will be no demons to slay. The demons you know will be gone. That's how it works so… why even bother?"

"Because demons are still around that need to be slain, people need help," Sango snapped. "You just don't understand."

"I don't…" Kagome admitted with a small shake of her head as her brows bent together. "Do you really want to center your whole life on something so tedious? Don't you want a better life? A happier one? Don't you deserve that after everything you've been through…?"

That gave her pause as her mahogany gaze shifted over to the stew. For a long while, they just sat in silence until, she finally spoke again. "I… I don't think I do… but I must honor my father's word and marry Rensei. And… this is what Rensei wants to do. He's a good man, Kagome-chan."

"I believe you," Kagome assured him, "but… so is Miroku. Miroku would give you a different life, a better one, whatever one you wanted."

Again, Sango was silenced for a short time before she answered. "If I was willing to raise another woman's child. I don't know… if I have the strength to do that."

She supposed she could understand that, Kagome didn't know if she had that type of strength, either. Thus, she didn't press the issue any further and Sango didn't bother to speak of it anymore. They just waited, silently, together for the stew to finish.

* * *

_** A/N**: Here's an update to A Rose. I hope to finish the story in the near future. I hope that there is still an interest in the story. I appreciate all the reviews to this story and all the reviews_ that will come. I appreciate them all regardless of length.

This chapter was hardly more eventful than the past two, for that I'm sorry. I promise the next chapter will be more interesting.

******B**alsamine: **Impatience **


	26. White Dried Rose

†**{ A** **R**_ose_ by **A**_ny_ **O**_ther _**N**_ame_…** }**†  
**x{ **_2_**6: ****W**_hite _**Dried ****R**_ose_**}x**  
-•°•°•-

Darkness swarmed the sky in modern day Tokyo, as if a terrible storm was about to strike down the city in one fierce force. It gave everyone that turned their gaze skyward a chill but as soon as it appeared it disappeared. That was something weathermen would be talking about for days. No one had any way of knowing where the sickening smoke came from, nor could they know that it found its way to the well to pool down into it… crossing from one time to another.

A time that that darkness knew well, the time period in which he died. Naraku, unfortunately for him, no longer had a solid physical form. Now he had to take one, but he was alright with that. When he was first alive, when he was merely a hanyou grabbing a shikon shards for strength, he didn't know how weak he was.

Hell hardened him more than he thought possible. Hell gave him strength he never knew possible. Hell… is not somewhere he ever wants to return to. He _won't_ go back. Azazel, that bastard, would send him straight down again if he failed to destroy the disarrayed damsel that was distant for doom. That was _going_ to happen, he was _going_ to doom her like he had promised so long ago.

And Inuyasha… oh, how he boiled with utter hatred for that hanyou. He wanted nothing more than to make him suffer. Really, he had thought that his last attack would have torn the two apart but… apparently not. He was so certain that after taking possession of Inuyasha's body and doing what he had done to Kagome would have caused too big of a scar on their relationship.

That only made him _more_ furious but that fury gave him fire to fume his determination but none of that mattered as his formless foggy form flew across the scenery. For the time being, all that mattered was finding a body to take control of then finding that fucking female and her bitch of a hanyou.

This time he wouldn't fail. This time he _would_ kill them. This time he would finally rid the world of those two.

x-•°•°•-x

"We saw them," Kagome declared while they walked along the walls around the demon slayer's village. For the night they spent it in one of the rebuilt huts but since morning was about it was time to finally start to head back. They had plenty they still needed to do in her time.

"Yeah," Inuyasha replied with a lifted brow as his golden gaze shifted over to her, "so?"

"So," she drew out as her hazels moved to meet his stare. "Inuyasha, we need to go back to my time. Damian… is still possessed and Azazel is still alive and trying to find a way to open the portal to bring that big boss guy over. That'd be _really_ bad for humans everywhere."

"I know," he asserted, he hadn't forgotten about all of that while they were there. Though, he would have liked to. He would have much rather have had things just be about collecting the shikon shards and killing Naraku again. The latter he understood, he had a grasp on that situation, and he did a great job at handling it-at least he thought so. But the other one… the weird shit in her time period was beyond him.

He loved Kagome, obviously, but… he couldn't stay in her time period for forever. It'd be too difficult. When she was safe, when it was all done, he would have to come back to his side of the well. He just hoped she'd come with him.

"Then we should say our goodbyes and get going," Kagome asserted while she grabbed his hand to turn them around and lead him back to the entrance to the slayer's village. He followed, obediently, but it was obvious to her that he wasn't too pleased about it. He didn't like her time period, she knew that yet she could hardly just turn her back to all that was happening on the other side of the well.

She had to save Damian… somehow.

"I'm sorry to see you leave," Sango announced after they gathered there things. "I hope you return sometime soon."

"We will," Kagome assured her before hugging her comrade and waving goodbye to the others. As soon as they were out the gates again Inuyasha knelt down so she could get on his back. It was far quicker to travel with him zooming through the air. A pang pulsed through her to give her an alert… an aura was around that shouldn't be. A demon… a demon from her time.

"Inuyasha," she just started to get out when a blast shot knocked them down, she fell from his back to tumble around on the ground. He was able to find his way to his feet before he fell all the way to the ground. Instantly, he grabbed his sword and yanked it out of its sheath so that it could transform.

"Kagome, are you alright?" he inquired as he glanced his eyes over to her as she pushed herself off the ground.

"Yeah, what I was about to say before that happened was I feel a demon's presence… the type from my world," she explained as she got her bag back onto her shoulder and walked up to him.

"Inuyasha, Kagome," someone greeted as he walked into sight, a wicked smirk on his face as he glanced over the two. "It is so good to see you again."

Inuyasha's brows bent as he glanced over to Kagome to confirm that she didn't recognize the man in front of them, either. He was bald, a tad taller than Inuyasha, but otherwise bland.

"I would understand you two not recognizing me," he assured them as he raised his arms up and looked over his own body, "I wouldn't either. This is just a puppet, a means to an end."

"Why don't you enlighten us," Inuyasha requested.

"I'll give you a hint," the man offered, "I once took possession of your body and took advantage of your girlfriend while doing so."

"Naraku," Inuyasha growled with clenched teeth and narrowed eyes. His grasp on his sword tightened ever so gravely, he could feel his blood boiling with furry. "I am going to kill you."

"I would like to see you try," Naraku countered, "this time I won't fail, I'm going to kill the both of you."

That was all it took to spark a battle between the two, he slashed his sword to try and destroy him while Naraku used his powers to attempt to bash him about without even touching him. Kagome felt utterly useless just standing there but she didn't know what to do. She hadn't a bow or any arrows to help him and running over _trying_ to do something wouldn't do them any good.

In a bigger burst, Naraku blasted Inuyasha away, certainly causing a gash while he dropped to the ground… what worried her the most was that his sword stumbled out of his hand. Naraku was quick to get close enough to grab it and throw it far away into the forest so that he couldn't use it again. That meant… Inuyasha's blood would be unstable.

He could turn full-blood youkai at any time.

As quickly as she could, she popped open her bag and rummaged through it to try and find something of use. Meanwhile, she saw out of the corner of her eyes that Inuyasha was getting up to try to defend himself once more when Naraku attempted to kill him again.

"Ow," she complained as she pricked her finger upon something. Instantly, she knew what that was and a smile lifted her lips as she moved her hand again to grab the handle of the knife her father had given her. That knife could do great things, like _permanently_ kill any demon. Her hazels then turned up to see where Inuyasha was, and worry ate away at her more.

His cheeks had flashes of those violet strips just like his eyes turned from gold to red some, too. That was bad. When he was a full blood demon he was… uncontrollable. He barely even recognized her.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome called out as she threw the knife towards him. His ear twitched at the sound of his name and his golden gaze shifted just in time to see the knife flying through the air towards him. Swiftly, he raised his hand to grab the knife and stab Naraku in the chest.

A horrible gasp left his lips, darkness took his eyes as he groaned. Inuyasha slowly let him drop to the ground as the knife slid out.

"Is he dead?" Kagome inquired while she ran up to him, grabbing his arm and examining her face swiftly to make sure that he wasn't changing anymore. His features seemed to soften back to normality, thankfully.

"Seems so, what's this?" Inuyasha asked as he glanced over the blood covered knife, "where'd you get it from?"

"My father," she answered with a weak smile, "he gave it to me for an occasion like this…"

But, at the same time, that knife… had been his end. Lilith had been the one brave enough to free their father from possession but that meant he had to be stabbed. That he had to die. Just like the innocent man in front of them.

Life simply wasn't fair sometimes.

* * *

_**A/N**_: _This is a very quick update, obviously, since it is so short. Hope you don't mind but at least it was a bit more eventful than the last couple of chapters, right?_

_I will be updating again soon. Hopefully within a week. Since this isn't a sought after story anymore I hope to finish it soon._

_Thank you for the review, Kovia. I appreciate it._

_**White Dried Rose: **Death is Preferable to Lose of Virtue  
_


	27. Yarrow

†**{ A** **R**_ose_ by **A**_ny_ **O**_ther _**N**_ame_…** }**†  
**x{ **_2_**7: ****Y**_arrow_**}x**  
-•°•°•-

It took them a bit over a day to get back through the well because of their stops—the ones Kagome insisted on—to tend to Inuyasha's wounds. They were nothing too grave, at least that's what the sometimes idiotic Inuyasha said. What she wanted was to just get to her house to clean and wrap them up properly. The medicine in her world were superior to his, after all.

Which was just one of the many reasons she preferred hers over his. Showers, functioning bathrooms, a wide range of food, her family, and the ability to travel the world instead of just Japan were others. Yet, in the end, she wasn't sure she could convince Inuyasha to stay with her there…

Then again, when it was all finally done, Kagome had haunting feeling that that wouldn't be a problem. As much as it pained her to think it, she doubted both would survive. And… well, really, if one of them were to die it would be her.

They both knew that they had wasted a lot of time visiting their friends in the past when there were plenty of worries in the future. Azazel could have opened whatever door he was looking for to bring their demon leader to earth while they were gone, though both hoped not. As soon as they got to the well hut on the Higurashi property Kagome began to list of things that they needed to do but all that faded to nothing when she opened the door to see that someone was apparently waiting for them…

Someone who was not Remie or Minoru. Her breath hitched in the back of her throat as her mouth was left ajar, her wide hazels locked on the sight before her. Inuyasha hardly saw what the big deal was, quickly he let his golden gaze glimpse over the girl. She had fair skin, hazels eyes, and slightly curly dirty blonde hair. When he took a breath in he didn't smell demon, but then again he couldn't sense possession.

Kagome could.

"L-L-Lilith," she finally stuttered out as she took a step closer, "what… are you doing here?"

"Looking, obviously," she retorted with a roll of her eyes. "What the hell are you doing here? I thought father made it clear that you weren't to return. And who the hell is that?"

"Inuyasha," Kagome weakly answered.

"Well, Inuyasha, you look like a mess," Lilith stated with a condescending glance over him.

"Who the hell are you?" he grunted back.

But she hadn't the time to answer that before Mrs. Higurashi came out of the house, a grand smile on her face, "oh, Kagome! You're back, and I see you have a visitor."

"Yes, mom," Kagome answered with a failed attempt at a smile, "this is my friend—"

"Don't be silly, we're obviously more than that," Lilith countered, swiftly she turned on her heels to extend her hand to Mrs. Higurashi. "Hello, I've heard oh so much about you. I'm Lilith Higurashi. Me and my brother, Damian, are from my deceased dad's firth marriage. Well, I guess it'd make more sense to say _your_ late husband's."

"Lilith," Kagome harshly whispered.

"E-excuse me?" Mrs. Higurashi countered, there simply was no way that was the truth. Her husband never once mentioned that he was married to anyone else and he surely did not say that he had children.

"Ask Kagome it's true," Lilith requested with a nod of her head.

Instantly, her mother's eyes went to her daughter. Reluctantly, she said, "it's true… I met Lilith while I was traveling. We even got a blood test done to prove it. I'm sorry, mom, I didn't know how to tell you."

"Oh," was all she murmured before returning into the house without another word.

"Lilith! That was mean! You didn't need to do that!"

"You didn't need to come back," she rejoined with narrowed eyes, "you shouldn't have, father said you couldn't. But, then again, sweet little Kagome could _never_ do anything that he wanted her to do. Listening to our father would just be too hard on you, huh? You're such a delicate flower."

"It was necessary," Kagome snapped, "and complicated."

"Sure it is," Lilith muttered back before waving the subject off to ask, "where's Damian? I figured it I found you I'd find him. I haven't seen him for months. I'm worried, I haven't heard from him either."

Instantly, all the anger and hostility that Kagome felt towards her sister vanished. Damian… oh, Lilith was going to _murder_ her. Not that she didn't think she deserved that. Damian died and his body became possessed all because of Kagome… it was her fault.

She bit her bottom lip before she confessed, "he's possessed… by _the_ demon, Lilith. By Azazel."

The annoyance that had been so easily etched into Lilith's face slowly faded away to that of a crushed expression. For a long time she was mute until she inquired, "do you still have the knife that dad gave you?" She waited for the nod. "That knife can kill any demon. It's the only thing that can, so you have to use it to kill… kill Damian."

"I can't," she whispered with a shake of her head, "if we do that then Damian's soul will get dragged to hell, too."

"You're such a stupid bitch sometimes," Lilith retorted sharply. "Do you still have that hair piece thing that dad gave you?"

"Yeah," she slowly said, "so?"

"Give it to me," she ordered with an extended hand. She had to wait a minute for Kagome to go to her room, find it, then bring it back down and out to her. As soon as Lilith got her hands on it she removed one of the gems on it to let a blue light find its way out and up. "So damn stupid, and people think you're going to save us all."

"What… was that?" Kagome questioned.

"If you have to ask then you are dumber than I thought," Lilith proclaimed while she put the gem back and shoved the hair piece into Kagome's hand. "I had to take care of dad… I can't… no, I can, if I had to. I could do the same to Damian because I know that's what he would want but _I_ don't want to. He's _my_ brother, has been all _my_ life, so you do it. It's probably your goddamn fault he's possessed anyway."

"That was dad's spirit?"

Lilith only rolled her eyes at that before she turned to walk away, "Remie and Minoru want to go to some local psychic tomorrow to seek out her guidance. Tell them to call me if it works out."

"She's a bitch," Inuyasha declared the moment she was gone.

"She kind of has a right to be," Kagome countered softly before she forced a smile and looked to him, "how about we go fix up those wounds of yours?"

x-•°•°•-x

The next day Remie and Minoru showed up to see if they had returned then briefed them on their idea to consult a psychic. They were both aware of the way Kagome felt about them, but they were also at a loss of what else to do. Remie had called all her contacts, used all her extensive collection of supernatural items, and still came up with nothing on the location of Azazel. The same went for Minoru.

"Well, if we have no other choice we have no other choice," Kagome had said, reluctantly, before they put a hat on Inuyasha and headed out. A time almost a half hour to get to the place via train then another ten minute walk but eventually they got there. It was far more formal of a situation than she had expected since a secretary greeted them, confirmed they had an appointment, then took payment before allowing them in.

"Are you sure she's legit?" Kagome whispered.

"Yes," Remie asserted before they entered the room and were asked to take a seat at the round table. "We're looking for—"

"Azazel the demon, I'm aware," the woman countered with a smile as her deep chestnut gaze glanced over each of them, stopping briefly on Inuyasha. "My, my, a man from the past… that's interesting."

"Shizuka-sama," Minoru began respectfully, "we would like to know if you could tell us what exactly needs to be done for Azazel to open the door he speaks of, the one that will bring his leader over."

"Let me consult the spirits," she requested with a bow of her head before she placed her hands on the table and shut her eyes. She moved her head, slowly, side to side every once and a while before she took a deep breath in and opened them once more. "The first seal has been broken, Azazel made a large amount of deals for people's spirits."

"Rin and Koga," Kagome whispered to Inuyasha, that explained why he was doing that. Granted someone's deepest desires in exchange for their soul to go to hell.

"He's also broken the second, recently," she paused and shut her eyes, "two days ago, he completed that task."

Kagome felt a tinge of guilt over that one. She had been in the feudal era when that happened just visiting with her friends… that wasn't that important. That could have waited. They should have been there to stop him, she clenched her fist in frustration. Apparently, Inuyasha noticed her tense up and gradually moved his hand over hers. For whatever reason, that made her feel a bit better.

"They are working on the third step now," she announced, "he's trying to shield himself from sight while he works on it… it is the final step after all, he completes this and the door to hell opens. I will need more time to figure out what he is up to. Have any of your ever encountered this demon head on? Touched it even?"

"I have," Kagome confirmed.

"It would help me a great deal," the psychic stated as she held out her hand for Kagome to place hers in. Again, she closed her eyes—instantly she tensed up. When she opened them again she pulled back her hand and pressed her lips together delicately.

"What did you see?" Remie inquired.

It took a moment for the woman to pry open her lips again, even longer for her eyes to meet Kagome's, then she said it—the thing that was too much for the distressed damsel to hear.

"You… are pregnant, Higurashi-san."

x-•°•°•-x

Gradually, Kagome's eyes fluttered open to see that she was in an unfamiliar room. Slowly she sat up, placing her hand upon her forehead, as she looked around. A small smile slipped up her lips when she saw Inuyasha sitting beside her, his golden gaze fixated upon whatever she was up to.

"I just had the weirdest dream…" Kagome confessed with a small shake of her head.

"About what?" he asked.

"We were at this psychics—"

"Kagome," Inuyasha gently interrupted, "we… are still at the psychic's, you passed out and she offered you her guestroom until you came to."

"No," Kagome countered with a laugh and shake of her head. "Nope, because then she would have said what she said and she didn't say that. I'm not.. I couldn't be… there's no way. I'm the pill."

"The pill takes a whole month to become effective," Remie declared as she walked into the room with a plastic bag from a pharmacy. "Did you wait a whole month? Or at least use a condom every time?"

The answer to both those questions were no… but she didn't say it, she just shook her head in disbelief. It would be the worst timing in the whole world since, well, the world was going to hell and all. Azazel was still alive, Damian was in trouble, and nothing good had happened in a long time. If anything, all her time in her own era since she left the feudal era for good all those years back proved what a miserable place it was.

It surely wasn't a place for a child. It wasn't safe enough. It wasn't good enough. It wasn't… fair.

"I bought some home tests," Remie declared as she handed the bag to Kagome. "I figured you'd want to be sure, even though Shizuka is known for her nearly hundred percent accuracy."

"She's wrong," Kagome insisted as she snatched the bag and stormed off to the restroom.

"I think it'd be a good idea if we left her alone for a while," Remie suggested.

"I don't want to leave her alone right now," Inuyasha countered.

"We'll just be in the next room, nothing will happen to her. Trust me, Kagome is in denial right now, she needs time to process, alone…" Remie kept up. He supposed she was right so he unwillingly got up and walked out with her, taking one last glance to the bathroom door before sighing and shutting the guestroom's door behind him.

It took drinking a lot of water and a long time but she took all five of the different types of home tests that Remie bought her… and they all said the same thing. Positive. But just because those five things were right and that highly accurate psychic didn't mean that it was true.

That was what she kept telling herself until she finally walked out of the bathroom. It was just because she didn't want it to be true that she didn't believe it—she knew that, it was called denial. She just wished that denial had the power to make her wish come true.

"Kagome," Inuyasha cautiously started as he reentered the room. "Are you alright?"

"No! Of course not!"

"We need to figure out what to do," he stated anyway. It was just as much a shock to him as it was to her to hear. Did he want this? He didn't know… having children someday really wasn't something he ever thought about but it apparently was happening.

"Figure out what to do?" Kagome snapped, "what the hell _is_ there to do? The world is going to hell in a basket! Azazel is still alive and if he finds out about this he'll do something horrible! Damian still needs _my_ help! Now is not the time to have a child, period."

"What's that mean?" Inuyasha inquired with a bent brow, "look, I know we didn't plan this but it's happening—"

"It doesn't actually have to," Kagome insisted.

It took a moment but, eventually, it dawned on him what she was saying. He shook his head, "no. Not that… do you really think I won't be able to protect you and our—?"

She couldn't hear him say that. She couldn't become attached. She couldn't even think about it like that so she stopped him. "No, I don't."

It clear she upset him, so much so he didn't even want to speak to her anymore so he waved her off and left the room—slamming the door behind him. He meant well and he would try his hardest but she didn't think he could actually protect her from anything in her time period. He didn't know the right way to fight the demons that plagued her world.

x-•°•°•-x

Minoru was nosey, but a good friend, so when finally came around to talk to her about all that happened she allowed it. It helped that he had food, too.

"I'm guessing Inuyasha's still mad?"

"I don't know, I suppose," Minoru answered with a small shrug, "he hasn't said anything since that quick chat he had with you earlier."

"I… I sort of told him that we just shouldn't have it," she muttered quickly as she stirred her noodles and shook her head. "It' just not the right time, with everything that's going on… it's too dangerous. It's not fair."

"It's up to you," Minoru assured her, "obviously it's your decision to make. If I were in your position I would tell the women to abort the problem but I've never really wanted to be a father. You're right about things being… hellish. After you passed out, Shizuka did tell us where to find Azazel. There's a chance that we could stop him, that we could end this but that doesn't mean that demons will disappear from this world. Just him, just the door that can bring more… it'll be ages before all the demons are dead."

"Exactly," she whispered, "it'll be forever before it is safe enough to have any child…"

"Can I just say something?" Minoru asked, he even waited for her to give him a nod of approval. "While I sympathize with your plight, even support your current conclusion, I just… I can't imagine you giving up your child—regardless of the situation."

That only earned a heavy sigh from her as she shut her eyes.

"I know that doesn't help," he softly said, "but it's true. You are an optimist hiding behind a pessimist for safety."

"I don't know what to do," Kagome groaned as she covered her face.

She didn't even know if what he said was true… but the pessimist in her spoke louder than any optimist. It told her she'd be cutting her loses since if she had the child—_if_ she didn't die before that happened—she'd probably just lose it anyway. Azazel or some other demon would make sure of it. So why even bother becoming attached?

Why bring a child into such a fucked up world?

She couldn't… she just couldn't.

* * *

_**A/N**_: _It's been forever since I've updated this. Sorry. _

_I can't believe I started this story over two years ago... it's so weird. I was having flash backs to times in college when I should have been studying for an exam or writing a paper but was writing a chapter for this story instead. _

_I'm only going to have two more chapters then I'm going to stop this story. I'm really looking forward to having it finished and another story completed on my list. Then it's four or so stories to complete and then I'll most likely be done with ff[dot]net.  
_

_**Yarrow: Wishing Good Health for expecting mothers**_

_Thank you for all the reviews. I appreciate them all and any to come.  
_


	28. White Mums

†**{ A** **R**_ose_ by **A**_ny_ **O**_ther _**N**_ame_…** }**†  
**x{ **_2_**8: ****W**_hite _**M**_ums_**}x**  
-•°•°•-

For a long while she just remained isolated off from the rest to contemplate what to do. One moment she was certain that becoming a mother was an awful idea. Yet, the next, she couldn't imagine giving it up. Apparently a few hours had passed by, that's why Minoru returned to talk with her.

"I still don't know what to do," she muttered while her gaze moved over to him.

"You can't be expected to figure it out in one day," Minoru assured her with a gentle smile. "How about we focus our minds elsewhere for now? Say, on finding where Azazel is? There's only one more seal before he opens the gates of Hell."

"Right," she whispered with a nod. There were bigger concerns than whether or not she was going to be a mother. She probably was only about a month or so along so she was _barely_ pregnant… saving the world from the gates of Hell opening up and a demon of unimaginable powers crossing over was far more important than that.

Maybe… just maybe, if they were able to stop it then making the right decision would become easier? A part of her did want to become a mother. That part, though, didn't think she would be having a baby at such a young age. Her other half—perhaps, bigger half—didn't want that responsibility yet and couldn't believe the world would ever be stable enough to bring another life into it.

While she loved her father, she still resented him for the life he gave her. She didn't want to force the same thing on someone else. Besides, what kind of life could a child from two different worlds really hope to have? She would really want to raise a kid in her era, not Inuyasha's…

But, she knew Inuyasha couldn't survive in her world. He hated it there… besides, what _would_ they do? She didn't go to college, how could she support them? There was no trace that Inuyasha was ever born, let alone went to school. There was no way he could get a job.

Just thinking about it made her groan.

She just wished… all her problems would go away.

x-•°•°•-x

An abandoned warehouse off of Tokyo bay was where the psychic was certain that they would encounter Azazel. Remie, Minoru, and Kagome were the only ones that ended up there, though, since… well, no one could find Inuyasha. He was still upset with her and decided to go for a walk to clear his head—at least, that was what he told Minoru—but they didn't have time to wait for him.

Truthfully, Kagome wasn't sure what to say to him yet, anyway… and she didn't want him getting hurt. So, she actually preferred being here without him. He knew how to fight demons of the past amazingly well, better than anyone she knew but… her type of demons weren't right for him.

"Kagome," someone whispered to gain her attention. Her hazels shifted to see her half-sister, Lilith, had finally arrived. As promised, she called her to tell her what the psychic said and so she insisted on coming to meet them there. Azazel was the reason her father was dead and he was possessing their brother.

"Lilith," she greeted and nodded for her to join them. There was only one door to enter the building but plenty of windows. So, they waited around the corner while they tried to figure out how many demons were inside. Kagome could sense some, as could Minoru, but Remie was the one that would discern that with whatever charm she happened to posses.

Until then, they were waiting.

"Do you have the knife that father gave you?" Lilith questioned.

"Of course," Kagome answered, that was the only thing they knew would kill Azazel. It was just… she didn't know if she had the strength to actually stab Damian.

"Give me the knife," Lilith requested while she held out her hand and looked towards the door.

"What?" she countered with a lifted brow. "Why do you want it?"

"Can _you_ kill Damian?" she retorted bitterly with narrowed eyes. "I didn't think so. I had to take care of father so I'll do this one, too."

"You… will?" she mumbled back. But… just a few days ago Lilith had been dead set on Kagome being the one to kill their brother. She had said she couldn't do it. So, how could she possibility changed mind like that?

"Yes, no give it to me, Kagome," Lilith ordered while she shook her hand. "Hurry up, we might only get one chance at this."

"There's two demons inside," Remie announced before her brows bent together and her gaze shifted to Kagome, "and… one out here."

"You're not Lilith," Kagome declared while she tried to move away but Lilith grabbed her neck and slammed her head against the wall before she got the chance to. With a lifted hand she sent Remie and Minoru flying away to pin them to the ground.

"I hear you found out my real name, clever," Lilith said with a pout as she squeezed Kagome's neck once more. "Psychics can only track me down if they figure that part out. Now give me the knife."

"No," she managed to get out in a choke and with that she reached to grab it and tried to stab her with it only to be flung far away to smash on the ground. But, she didn't and wouldn't let go of the knife just because of that.

"I'm going to kill you," she stated while she walked over to her before she could manage to get off the ground. Just to emphasize that point, she kicked her with all her might in the stomach. "Let go of the knife."

"No," she gasped out.

"You're brothers body is rotting away inside the warehouse," she taunted while she grabbed a chunk of her hair to slam her head down on the ground, spark a new splatter of blood. "I'm going to ride this body so hard that when I'm done with it she'll be begging for death. But before I give it up, I'm going to kill your friends over there. _Then_ I'll find that fucking silver haired prick and ripe his heart out with my hand."

To that, Kagome slashed the knife at her—only causing a scream at the cut but it did get her to let go so she could crawl away some.

"Kagome," she grumbled in-between clenched teeth a she held onto her arm that started to shed crimson. "That's not nice."

"Get out of Lilith, now!" she ordered instead just as she got to her feeble feet.

"Fuck you," she retorted as she pointed to Kagome then flung her arm towards the building, which sparked her body to follow that direction and slam against the wall before her hand flung in the opposite direction to get her to fly towards the ground again.

Unfortunately, that slam knocked the knife right out of her hand.

"I'm going to kill you with this now," she declared with a wicked smile as she knelt down to pick it up then walk over to the girl that groaned in pain. "No one is going to come to your rescue this time. Daddy is dead, your brother's dying, and your boyfriend's nowhere to be found. Hm… I wonder why _that_ is?"

"What'd you do?" Kagome quickly questioned.

"You'll never know," she stated as she lifted the knife up. Her hand shook as she strained herself to bring it down. Slowly, she reached out to take her wrist with her other hand and she grunted, "stop that. This body is mine."

"Lilith," Kagome whispered, "please… Lilith."

She stabbed the knife down to hit a fatal spot—right in the heart. Blood burst out, her eyes grew wide, and lips parted as she fell to the ground. Kagome barely believed it… somehow, Lilith was able to gain enough control of her body that… she could stab herself?

"Lilith," Kagome repeated as she pushed herself up to her knees to grab her as she fell forward. "Lilith… don't worry, we'll get someone here. Someone that can fix you. I promise."

"S-save," she stammered, "save… Damian."

Just as Lilith took her last breath, Kagome's world fell to darkness…

x-•°•°•-x

When her eyes opened again, she was in a very different place. Instead of outside near the bay, she was in a bland room. An IV hocked up to arm, and beating machines around her. Slowly, her curious hazels shifted around until they landed on a familiar face.

"Hey," Minoru greeted as he sat up straight in his seat, "how are you feeling?"

"My whole body hurts," she countered as she grabbed her gut in particular.

"Azazel banged you up pretty badly," he admitted with a nod. "When he died, Remie and I could move again. We found Damian inside, he was dying… we called an ambulance."

"Is he alright?" she sped to ask, "what about Lilith?"

"I'm so sorry," he whispered while he reached out to grab her hand and squeeze it. Slightly, he shook his head. So she shut her eyes and took a deep breath in. Of course… that past psychic had told her if Inuyasha was alive then Damian would die.

"Lilith died before she got to the hospital," Minoru explained, "Damian is in the intensive care unit. The doctors think it's looking good. He woke about an hour ago. So, I think he'll make it."

"What?" she gasped as she opened her eyes, "_really_?"

He nodded, "I'm so sorry about Lilith… I know you two had your difference but in the end you were sisters. It's truly remarkable that she had the will power to take over her body from a demon as powerful as Azazel, even if it was just for that one action. She probably saved thousands of lives."

"She did," Kagome confirmed with a nod, "where's… Remie?"

"Other Resistance members showed up, we found the two demons that were with Azazel and discovered where the gate was. We're going to guard it from now on so that this won't ever be a problem again. Hopefully, the fact that we were managed to kill Azazel will hinder future tries."

"Hopefully," she whispered to herself before she slowly asked, "is… Inuyasha here?"

For a moment, all Minoru's answer was a shake of his head before he admitted, "I haven't seen him for hours. Not since we left the psychics."

"What if Azazel did something to him?" she questioned as she sat up straight, "we need to find him!"

"We'll look for him," he assured her, "but you need to rest."

"Screw that," Kagome countered while she ripped the IV from her arm, causing a wince all the while before she tried to get out of bed only to have Minoru hold her back.

"Kagome, the doctor said you need to rest, let me look for him," he requested.

"No, I need to find him," she insisted but she didn't get another chance to try and get up before her doctor walked back into the room. A puzzled expression plastered upon his face when he saw the scene before him.

"I," he started before pausing and looking at the two, "can I have a word with you alone, Higurashi-san?"

"Fine," she grumbled. The moment he was done she was out of there, though. Reluctantly, Minoru left—he probably suspected what she was planning on doing. "What?"

"Your friend told me upon your arrival that you were pregnant," he slowly said as he glanced down to his chart, pressing his lips together, before looking back up to her.

Right… she had almost completely forgotten about that. "And…?"

"I'm so sorry," he weakly began, "but due to your assault…"

"_What_?" Kagome harshly questioned, "what happened due it?"

"You are no longer pregnant," he declared. "I'm sorry. Physical trauma can trigger miscarriages."

Stunned… she was absolutely stunned to hear that. Something in her ached from that knowledge as she lied back down to stare at the wall. She really had no idea what she was planning on doing with the whole "being pregnant" thing but… now it was gone.

Just like she had sort of wished for… it was so weird. If only that psychic had never told her then she wouldn't have had to know. For not even a fully day, she thought she was going to possibly be a mother. And just as quickly that was taken from her.

Shouldn't she have felt a little bit more relieved? A part of her did… another part didn't.

Really, she just wished her emotions would get on the same board about this situation.

x-•°•°•-x

"Mom!" Kagome called out as she walked in her front door, it took her time to process what the doctor had said but as soon as that happened she was out of there. She couldn't reminisce on the "what could have been" while Inuyasha was missing. When she checked before she left, Damian was still doing fine but asleep.

But that couldn't mean… she just _couldn't_ lose Inuyasha. Not him, too. Not after everything.

Minoru had stopped her before she got to the door. She was certain he was going to try and make her go back to bed but, luckily, he knew he couldn't get her to do that. Instead, he gave her something Damian had on him—the whole shikon no tama. Azazel had gotten a hold of it after he killed Naraku and just never did anything with it.

"Kagome," her mother replied as she walked out of the kitchen, a smile on her face. "We just finished having dinner, I could reheat you some of the leftovers if you would like."

"No, thanks," she quickly answered before forcing a smile to try and keep her mother from worrying. That failed the moment she got a good look at her face. From the multiple slams to the ground, she had a bruised and scrapped up forehead along with a rather unattractive black-eye. At least she couldn't see her bruised ribs or the black and purple stomach she had.

"Oh my," she gasped before she walked up to hover her hand above her face, "what happened?"

"Nothing," she assured her, "have you seen Inuyasha?"

"Yes, he came by a while ago and said he was going back his era for a bit. He wanted me to tell you that if you came looking for him. He had something that he needed to take care of there."

"Thank Kami," Kagome let go of her breath before she hugged her mother tightly. "I have to go see him."

Without another word she ran through the house to go out the kitchen door, to the hut, and down the stairs. If Inuyasha wasn't in her era but Damian was then perhaps that's why he was alright? His soul was free in that time to have it. She prayed that was what it was while she jumped down the well to zoom through the blue.

But… why had he returned to the Feudal Era without her? Had she really upset him that much by saying she didn't think he could protect her or their unborn child? She winced, instantly, at the thought of that because. She didn't even know how to explain that situation to him.

She worked through the physical pain that pulsed through her body as she climbed out of the well and over. There were a couple of places that he could be in that world—a lot that were nowhere close to the well. So decided to go to the closest place that she could think he would go to, Kaede's.

Sprinting there was out of the question, she was surprised she managed to climb all the way out of the well without keeling over, so she took her time walking down the hill and to the village. Her head hurt, her body ached, and her heart… was fractured, at the very least. Somehow, she had to figure out what to tell him.

In one day, she learned she was going to be a mom, watched Azazel _and_ Lilith die, saved Damian, and also discovered that it was just a false alarm—she _wasn't_ going to be a mom. That all equaled an 'ouch' at least.

"Kaede-sama?" Kagome called out before she entered the hut. Relief flushed through her the moment she saw Inuyasha sitting beside the old lady. In his normal, red, outfit.

"Kagome," Inuyasha muttered while he got to his feet to walk over to her. His golden gaze glanced over every inch of her before he reached out to touch her face but stopped before he could. "What the hell happened?"

It took her a minute to remember what he faced looked like, awkwardly, she tried to lightly laugh it off as she waved her hand. "It's not as bad as it looked, I promise."

"What happened?" he repeated nevertheless.

"We… sort of found out where Azazel was hiding and decided to go try to kill him—"

"_Without_ me?" he growled.

"I didn't know where you went!" she snapped, "you told Minoru you were going for a walk, not back here!"

He flinched at that before he averted his gaze and nodded his head. He supposed that was true. "Is… everyone alright?"

"Sort of," she whispered back while her hazel stare fell to the floor. "Minoru and Remie are perfectly fine. Damian… he's recovering but… Lilith's dead."

"I'm sorry," he mumbled, "I should have been there."

"I don't think you could have done anything to help her," she countered after she looked back up at him. "She was possessed, by Azazel, she did it to herself to protect me… to protect everyone. Lilith could be a bitch but she had a good heart."

"I should have been there to protect you," he asserted while his gaze moved midway up her body. "I should never have left you like that. I don't know what I was thinking—"

"I made you mad, you needed to cool off," she guessed, "it's alright, Inuyasha."

"I came to talk to Miroku about all of it," he admitted.

"Alright," she slowly started as she brushed a few somber strands out of her face and behind her ears. "There are two important things that I need to tell you right now."

"What are they?' he asked.

"I'm going to go get some firewood," Kaede proclaimed as she stood up the best she could to slowly walk out of her own hut. It was clear to her that they needed privacy. She got a thankful smile from Kagome for that.

"First off, you can _never_ return to my time period," she stated, instantly his eyes widened at that. "I'm afraid if you do… something bad might happen to Damian. That psychic told me that you two can't both be alive at the same time. I think that's why he's doing alright in the future, because by the time Azazel left his body you were already back here."

"Oh," he muttered then slowly nodded his head. "Alright… I understand."

"Thank you," she whispered. The next part was the hardest… she didn't know exactly how to say it but dragging it out wouldn't help. "I want you to know that you couldn't have done anything to stop this next part so please don't blame yourself… but because of my injuries," she stopped to take a deep breath in before blurting out, "the baby is gone."

* * *

_**A/N**: So close to being done with this story... I'm so looking forward to that. _

_**Thanks for reading. Please review.**_

_**White Mums**: Represents loss, death and grief_


	29. Orange Blossom

†**{ A** **R**_ose_ by **A**_ny_ **O**_ther _**N**_ame_…** }**†  
**x{ **_2_**9: ****O**_range _**B**_lossom_**}x**  
-•°•°•-

For an awfully long time, Inuyasha just stared dumbfounded at her. Not able to speak, not able to fully grasp what she had just told him. They learned just the day prior that they would become parents and then… suddenly, they weren't. He hadn't even been sure how to feel about that first part of that. Now he had to figure out how to feel about the former.

It really would have been better if they never knew then they would never have felt such lose.

"I'm sorry," Inuyasha finally said. "I… should have been there to protect you."

"You couldn't have done anything," she assured him, since she was almost a hundred percent sure that that was the truth. Yes, he was strong and all but.. when it came to fighting the future's type of demons he wouldn't have been much help. She was actually glad he wasn't there. If he was, he could have been lost, too…

"I could have protected you," he countered.

"Stop," she ordered as she raised her hand and sighed. "We'll just keep going around and around. Let's just end it with you saying sorry and me saying it's not your fault. Now… we need to make a rather big decision."

"What?" he mumbled. He hardly could think of something bigger than what they were already talking about. A worried swirl began to form in his gut.

"Azazel's dead so," she dragged out, "either we can live separate lives in separate eras or I stay here with you since… you can't ever come back to my era. If you do, it might kill Damian."

"What?" Inuyasha rejoined with a lifted brow—first, she tells him that they have to decide whether or not to stay together? Then she tells him he can never return to her era? As if she hadn't already put enough on him…

"Remember what that psychic told us?" she questioned with a small smile, "how only one of you two—either my half-brother Damian or you—could live? I guess the way around that is if both of you stay in separate time periods. Which makes sense if you stop to think about it… I think."

"Alright," he drew out, "then… I guess I'm staying here. Will you stay here with me?"

"I want to stay with you," she insisted but bit her bottom lip to pause for a moment. "But… the war with demons isn't finished just because Azazel is dead. Demons are still out there and someone needs to get rid of them. I always thought Lilith or Damian would take over our father's position in the Resistance movement but… I don't know if Damian will ever be fully alright again and Lilith's dead so…"

"That someone doesn't need to be you," he countered, gently. "You stopped Azazel—"

"Lilith did that," Kagome muttered.

"Whatever, you helped, you did your part. You should stay here, with me," he requested even though he knew it was a lot to ask of her. But… he couldn't think about life without her anymore. "I need you to stay with me… I can't lose you again."

"I'm tired," she whispered while she glanced away. "Maybe we should just sleep on it for now?"

He supposed that was fair enough so he nodded and let it go for the night. Though… he would rather not since that meant he had to wait the _entire_ night to hear her decision. It would be agonizing but… for her, he would have to deal.

x-•°•°•-x

By morning she was still uncertain of what her decision would be but… she couldn't really imagine waking up without him there. Or living the rest of her life without ever seeing him again. But… that would mean goodbye family and friends in the future.

Yes, she still had the shikon but it would be best to wish it away forever to keep anything awful from happening again. Which surely meant the well would seal off for forever. She probably wouldn't get the chance to visit the other side, ever.

So, even though she knew the way Inuyasha looked at her that next morning meant he wanted an answer... which got her to alter the subject complete. "Since I'm here, I'd like to go visit Miroku. Is that alright?"

"Yeah," he answered with a nod. "Yeah… of course."

Then he offered her a ride on his back for the journey there. An awkwardly silent one… it was probably for more reasons than just her not knowing whether to stay there or not. There was the whole "baby gone" factor that she didn't want to talk about, either.

"Kagome!" Miroku happily called out once they reached the top of the steps to get to Mushin's temple. "I'm so glad to see you… though, I would have hoped in better conditions." He motioned his hand to his face to hint towards her bruised face. "What happened?"

"Demon thing," she answered with a wave of her hand, "it's nothing. Not that big of a deal."

"I'd say it was" Inuyasha muttered just low enough that he knew Miroku couldn't hear but Kagome could. She was well aware of what that meant but… she didn't want to address that again yet. So she ignored it and smiled all the more at her friend as he hugged her lightly.

"Can I see little Michio?"

"Of course," he eagerly declared with a nod.

"I'm going to see how Mushin's doing," Inuyasha countered while he diverted from them.

"Is something wrong with him?" Miroku inquired with a lifted brow.

"There's… a few things," Kagome softly admitted before forcing another smile. "It's a long story."

"We have time, at least I do," Miroku replied while he opened the door to Michio's room. He was just in time to catch him wake up. Quickly, Kagome swooped in to pick him up and bounce him about some to keep him from whining and wiggle a giggle out instead. "You know… you'd make a good mother, Kagome."

To that, she just cringed. For a while, she glanced over the infant in her arms. Michio was too little to understand what they were saying. So she confessed, "one of the things that Inuyasha might be upset about is… I was temporarily pregnant—"

"Temporarily?" Miroku couldn't help but interrupt with a lifted brow.

"Yeah, we found out one day and the next it was gone," she whispered, "he wasn't there to protect me. There was nothing he could have done. Azazel, that evil demon, attacked me and a couple friends but in the end it's dead and we're alive. For the most part..."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's no one's fault" she assured him, "but I don't know how long it will take me to make Inuyasha see that."

"I see," Miroku drew out, "probably a long while. How are you? I'm sure such a lose must be very painful."

"I guess," she muttered, "but it was really just a day… and I wasn't even sure if I wanted to have a child yet."

"I'm… sure Inuyasha and you will get another chance," Miroku meekly said, though he wasn't sure if that was the right thing to say in such a situation.

"Maybe," she whispered, "I have to decide whether to stay here with him or return to my own era… permanently. I'm not sure which one I want yet. I mean, I would hate to say goodbye to Inuyasha but I just re-entered the life of my family in Japan and Damian is alive."

"I'm glad to hear the latter part," he assured her. After all, he was well aware of how important her half-brother was to her but… since Inuyasha was his best friend he had to add, "but sometimes, I think love is more important than blood."

"Oh?" Kagome countered with a sly smile, "so says the man that chose having a son to continue his _bloodline_ instead of fighting for his love—Sango."

"That… doesn't mean you should follow in my footsteps," Miroku countered. "While I love Michio dearly and I couldn't imagine life without him… I'll always miss Sango. I got Michio out of what I did, what do you get from staying with your family?"

"My family?" she supposed was the only answer she could think of... but was that really enough to leave Inuyasha for good? That was probably what Miroku was going to say if they hadn't been interrupted but the door slid open right before he got any of those words out of his mouth.

Instantly, both their eyes shifted to see a rather frantic looking female. One neither expected to see… so, slowly, Kagome began to creep towards the door. "Sango-chan?"

"Kagome-chan," she awed while her mahogany eyes shifted over her old friend, "what happened to your face?"

"Nothing, I'm fine," she assured her with a forced smile. "I'm going to take Michio for a walk so you two can… talk."

Miroku just nodded before she left the room. Slowly, he found the way to form a few words, "what… are you doing here? I thought you were meant to wed Rensei soon…"

"I called it off," she explained cautiously as she took a few steps closer to him. "Last time I saw Kagome-chan she said something that made me think… I can't actually marry Rensei just to make my father happy. I mean he's dead… and while I would like to honor his word I… I can't just give up what I want."

"What _do_ you want?" Miroku warily questioned.

"To not marry Rensei," she answered with a small shrug.

"And you came all this way to tell me because…?"

"Because I wanted to," she stated.

"Would you like to stay here for a while?" he did think she would need a place stay since ditching Rensie right before the wedding would mean she probably shouldn't be returning to the slayer's village.

With a weak smile, she nodded.

x-•°•°•-x

"Hello," Kagome greeted before she sat down next to her hanyou companion. He didn't say anything in return but did nod to her. She wrapped her arms around one of his as she rested her head on his shoulder. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," he answered.

"Guess who just showed up?"

"Sango," it wasn't hard for him to figure that out since her scent was filled in the arm.

"Isn't that great?" She asked with a giddy smile. "I wasn't sure if she would reconsider marrying Rensei or accept becoming Michio's surrogate mother but apparently she's willing now. I think she'll make a good mom and I'm sure they'll have other children. They make such a great couple."

"We make a great couple," he countered which caused her to cringe some.

She supposed she walked right into that one which meant they did have to address that problem finally. She bit her bottom lip before pulling away enough that they could look at each other. "Inuyasha… I've been thinking about that. I'm going to stay in this era with you."

"Really?" he questioned quickly, "you mean it?"

"Yeah," she said with a nod and a small smile. "Of course. I couldn't imagine living without you… but that does mean I'd like to go home to say goodbye to everyone."

"Alright," Inuyasha replied, "when?"

"Soon," she whispered before she reached into her jacket to feel the whole shikon no tama. "I think we should get rid of the full shikon sooner rather than later just for safety's sake."

"That makes sense, we don't need you breaking it into a thousand little pieces again," Inuyasha joked only to receive a rather cold stare in return. So, his smile faded completely. "Sorry…"

"Just get me back to the well, Inuyasha."

"Alright," he nodded.

x-•°•°•-x

Beeps repeated through the room in a rhythm, but she enjoyed that because that meant Damian was alive. Even though he was dead asleep, his heart was still beating and she could see his chest rise and fall to breath. For well over an hour she had been waiting for him to wake up so she could say goodbye… she already told her mother and brother what was going to happen.

This time, she promised them it was the truth. Both understood since they thought that was going to be the end result anyway when she was just a teenager and still traveling to and from the well. She bid adieu to both Remie and Minoru on her way to the hospital.

While there was plenty she could still do in her era… she was relieved to be leaving the endless fight. In the past, with Inuyasha by her side, she wouldn't have to worry about constant demon threats. If any did attack, he could easily take care of it.

Slowly, Damian stirred, which got her to sit on the edge of her seat until she could see his eyes slowly open. Her smile was the first thing he saw, which sparked a smile of his own before he sat up. "Kagome, I'm so glad you're alright."

"I'm glad you are," she countered before she leaned over to hug him lightly.

"I'm… really sorry about everything. I couldn't control Azazel—"

"It's okay, it's not your fault," she assured him while she sat back.

"So," he dragged out, "what now? Azazel's dead but I'm sure there are still possessions going on. What's the Resistance going to focus on now?"

"I'm not sure," she answered, "but… Damian, I'm not going to be a part of what comes next."

"Why?" he asked with a lifted brow.

"Do you remember anything from when you were possessed?" she paused to watch him nodded warily, "do you remember Inuyasha? And the Feudal Era?"

"Right," he replied, "I do. I was happy that you got reunited, I know how important he is to you."

"He is," she admitted with a smile, "very important… so I hate to do this to you know that Lilith and dad are both gone but…"

"You're going to stay in the Feudal Era with him?" Damian guessed with a weak attempt at a reassuring smile. "It's okay, I always knew if you ever went back you would stay there with him. I understand."

"Thank you, Damian," she whispered back before hugging him once more. "I'll miss you."

"And I'll miss you, too," he asserted and hugged her back.

Oh, how it was hard to part with him but… she had to, so after a little while longer she lift with her final goodbye to walk through Tokyo's street for the last time. She was forsaking it all to return to a world long ago that didn't even have running water or indoor plumbing… she shivered at the thought. But for all the conveniences she was giving up, she would get to spend the rest of her life with the man she loved.

For that, it was well worth it.

It wasn't until she was on the other side of the well and standing on the green grassy hill that she took out of the shikon. The thing that had brought her there to start out with… it brought so much pain to so many. It ruined so many lives… so with a whisper she wished it away for forever.

And locked herself in the past.

But when she saw her silver haired hanyou walking her way she smiled all the same. There was plenty of details to still workout—where to live, what to do, and what would they become—but she knew in that moment it would all be fine.

That they would finally get their happily ever after.

* * *

_**A/N**: **This is the end. I might add an epilogue at some point but as of now I doubt it. This really wasn't one of my better works... and I've always been told my endings seemed 'rushed' but I hope you enjoyed. Thank you everyone who reviewed and who will continue to review. **_

**_I am so happy to be able to have this story's status as complete. _**

_**I hope you enjoyed the story.**  
_

_**Thanks for reading. Please review.**_

_**Orange Blossom**: __Your Purity Equals Your Loveliness, Innocence, Eternal Love_  



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